Today we talk about VY Canis Majoris, an extreme red hypergiant that stretches our understanding of just how massive a star can possibly grow before destroying itself.

Located roughly 3,900 light-years away in the constellation Canis Major, this celestial titan is estimated to be around 1,420 times the radius of our Sun. If you placed VY Canis Majoris at the center of our solar system, its outer surface would extend beyond the orbit of Jupiter, swallowing Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and the entire asteroid belt in a single glowing sphere of superheated gas. A passenger jet flying along its equator at 500 mph would take nearly 1,100 years to complete just one full lap.

In this episode, we are exploring the chaotic, dying days of a stellar behemoth. VY Canis Majoris is shedding its mass at a staggering rate, blasting giant arcs and kno ...