VX Sagittarii facts for kids
VX Sagittarii, also known as HIP 88838, is an incredibly huge and bright star. It's called a red hypergiant star, which means it's one of the biggest and brightest stars in the universe. Imagine our Sun; VX Sagittarii is between 1,120 and 1,940 times wider than the Sun!
This amazing star is also a pulsating variable star. This means its size changes, or "pulsates," over time. It gets bigger and smaller in a regular pattern. Its brightness, called luminosity, is also super high. It shines with a temperature between 3,200 and 3,400 degrees Kelvin.
VX Sagittarii takes about 732 days to complete one full "pulsation" cycle. It's very far away from Earth, about 1.5 kiloparsecs. A kiloparsec is a huge distance, equal to about 3,260 light-years. So, VX Sagittarii is roughly 4,890 light-years away!
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What is VX Sagittarii?
VX Sagittarii is a type of star known as a red hypergiant. These stars are among the largest and most luminous stars in the universe. They are much bigger and brighter than red supergiant stars. Red hypergiants are very rare. They are also very unstable.
How Big is This Star?
To help you imagine its size, if VX Sagittarii were in the center of our Solar System, its outer layers would reach far beyond the orbit of Jupiter. It might even extend past Saturn or Uranus. This shows just how enormous this star truly is compared to our own Sun.
Why Does it Pulsate?
Stars like VX Sagittarii pulsate because of changes happening deep inside them. The star's outer layers expand and contract. This is due to a balance between its own gravity pulling inwards and the pressure from the heat and light pushing outwards. This makes the star's size and brightness change over time.
Where is VX Sagittarii Located?
VX Sagittarii is found in the constellation of Sagittarius. Sagittarius is a group of stars that looks like a teapot or an archer. You can see it in the night sky. However, VX Sagittarii is too far away to be seen without a powerful telescope.
Distance from Earth
The distance to VX Sagittarii is about 1.5 kiloparsecs. This is a very long way! Light from VX Sagittarii takes thousands of years to reach us. So, when we look at VX Sagittarii, we are actually seeing it as it was thousands of years ago.
