VY Canis Majoris

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VY Canis Majoris (abbreviated to VY CMa) is an extreme oxygen-rich red hypergiant or red supergiant (O-rich RHG or RSG) and pulsating variable star 1.2 kiloparsecs (3,900 light-years) from the Solar System in the slightly southern constellation of Canis Major. It is one of the largest known stars, one of the most luminous and massive red supergiants, and one of the most luminous stars in the Milky Way. No current evidence has been found that it is part of a multiple-star system. Its great infrared (IR) excess makes it one of the brightest objects in the local part of the galaxy (Orion Arm) at wavelengths of 5 to 20 microns (μm) and indicates a dust shell or heated disk. It is about 17±8 times the mass of the Sun (M☉), and is surrounded by a complex asymmetric circumstellar envelope (CSE) caused by its mass loss. It produces strong molecular maser emission and was one of the first radio masers discovered. VY CMa is embedded in the large molecular cloud Sh 2-310, a large, quite local star...

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