Cosmic Scale
Deneb
White supergiant · 2,600 light-years
How big is Deneb?
Deneb is about 2.8 × 10⁸ km across.
See Deneb in 3D, at true scale
Deneb marks the tail of Cygnus the Swan and one corner of the Summer Triangle. It is far more distant than most bright stars, which means it must be extraordinarily luminous to look as bright as it does.
At a glance
| Diameter | 2.8 × 10⁸ km |
|---|---|
| Mass | 3.78 × 10³¹ kg |
| Diameter compared with Earth | 22,200 × Earth |
| Distance | About 2,600 light-years |
| Surface | 8,525 K |
| Brightness | Nearly 200,000 Suns |
| Type | White supergiant |
Good to know
- Its distance is uncertain, and with it the estimate of how luminous it really is.
- It is shedding mass in a strong stellar wind, losing in a century what the Sun loses in a hundred thousand years.
- It will end its life as a supernova within a few million years.
- Next smaller: Rigel · 1.1 × 10⁸ km
- Next larger: Eta Carinae · 3.3 × 10⁸ km