KY Cygni facts for kids
KY Cygni is a truly enormous red star found in the Cygnus constellation. It's one of the biggest stars we know! Imagine if KY Cygni were placed where our Sun is. It would be so huge that its outer edge would reach far beyond the orbit of Jupiter, possibly even past Saturn! This giant star is also incredibly bright, shining with the power of about 300,000 Suns. It is located very far away from us, about 5,000 light-years from Earth.
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What is KY Cygni?
KY Cygni is a type of star called a red supergiant. These stars are some of the largest and brightest in the universe. They are much bigger than our Sun. Red supergiants are stars that are nearing the end of their lives. They have used up most of their fuel and have expanded greatly.
How Big is KY Cygni?
KY Cygni is one of the largest stars ever discovered. Its size is about 1,420 times bigger than our Sun. To help you imagine this, if our Sun were a basketball, KY Cygni would be like a giant sphere over a mile wide! This makes it one of the most massive stars we know.
How Bright is KY Cygni?
This star is also incredibly bright. It shines with a luminosity that is more than 300,000 times stronger than the Sun's light. Even though it is so far away, its immense brightness makes it stand out. Stars like KY Cygni are very powerful and release a huge amount of energy.
Where is KY Cygni Located?
KY Cygni is found in the Cygnus constellation. This constellation is also known as "The Swan." It is a well-known group of stars in the night sky. You can see it in the northern hemisphere. KY Cygni is about 5,000 light-years away from Earth. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year. This means the light we see from KY Cygni today left the star 5,000 years ago!
Images for kids
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Size comparison of Betelgeuse, Mu Cephei, KY Cygni, and V354 Cephei, according to estimates derived in 2005
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A visual band light curve for KY Cygni, plotted from data published by Kochanek et al. (2017)
See also
In Spanish: KY Cygni para niños
