Talk:VV Cephei/Archive 1

Archive 1

Size

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_stars says it's 1900 times the size of the star, but the article says it's "about 1140 times the Sun's diameter". Which is true?

Is the distance between VV Cephei A and VV Cephei B the distance between their centers, or their surfaces? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.214.89.74 (talk • contribs) 08:23, 2 October 2006.

I'd guess their centers, since that's how distances are usually measured in astrophysics. Foobaz·o< 23:28, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

I cannot believe the mass estimated from orbital motion, 100 solar masses. I guess , the distance between A and B is not well defined. The shape of VV Cephei A is highly distorted, so the center of the star must be far different from gravity point of the star. Kometsuga 14:58, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

I second that emotion: if this star is at least 1000 times the diameter (and hence radius) of the Sun, and we were to assume equal density, then this star's mass should be a _billion_ times that of the Sun, since mass is volume*density, and volume is proportional to the cube of the radius. Is its density really 10^-7th that of the Sun? - Jdsweet 15:20, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes. Red giants and supergiants have extremely low density. If the sun became a red giant, it would stretch to the orbit of the Earth if not Mars, yet would have the same mass. — Dark Shikari ^talk/_contribs 22:27, 23 December 2006 (UTC)