• Question: what is the biggest star is it pluto? is that even a star?

    Asked by bobchelsea to Mark, Matthew, Mike, Paul, Sabina on 13 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Sabina Hatch

      Sabina Hatch answered on 13 Mar 2014:


      No pluto is not a star, it is not even a planet now. At the moment I think it is a star called UY Scuti, this star is around 1700 times bigger than our Sun.

    • Photo: Mike Lee

      Mike Lee answered on 13 Mar 2014:


      Pluto is a planet not a star. The difference between a star and a planet is a star is so large than the gravity pushes atoms together so that smash into each other and form new, bigger atoms. This make energy so stars give off loads of light.

      Pluto is smaller so does not have enough gravity to push the atoms together. Think of it as a lump of cold rock moving slowly around the sun.

    • Photo: Matthew Malek

      Matthew Malek answered on 14 Mar 2014:


      The largest known star has the catchy name of “UY Scuti”. Its volume is about FIVE BILLION times that of the Sun. Pretty big, huh?

      UY Scuti is about 1000 light years away from Earth. That’s a good thing. If it were at sitting at the centre of our solar system, it would extend more than halfway to Saturn, consuming all the planets up and (and including) Jupiter!

      The runner up star has a similiarly attactive name: “NML Cygni”, which has a volume of about four and a half billion times that of the Sun.

      In contrast, Pluto is not a star at all and is very very small. Well, small compared to UY Scuti and NML Cygni. Small compared to the Earth, too. Compared to you or me, Pluto is actually pretty big!

    • Photo: Mark Jackson

      Mark Jackson answered on 14 Mar 2014:


      The biggest star is probably Angelina Jolie. The Disney dog Pluto is sortof a star, though I personally felt he was a bit of a Hollywood phony.

    • Photo: Paul Coxon

      Paul Coxon answered on 16 Mar 2014:


      It’s not a star, or even a planet these days. Poor Pluto.

      The “Mr Very Early Mother Just Sat Under Nextdoor’s Porch” rhyme to remember all the planets makes no sense now 🙁

Comments