Cosmic Scale
Pistol Star
Blue hypergiant · 26,000 light-years
How big is Pistol Star?
Pistol Star is about 4.3 × 10⁸ km across.
See Pistol Star in 3D, at true scale
The Pistol Star is a luminous blue variable near the centre of the galaxy, hidden behind so much dust that it was only found in the 1990s with infrared eyes. It has already blown off a nebula several light-years across.
At a glance
| Diameter | 4.3 × 10⁸ km |
|---|---|
| Mass | 5.47 × 10³¹ kg |
| Diameter compared with Earth | 33,400 × Earth |
| Distance | 26,000 light-years |
| Brightness | 1.6 million Suns |
| Nebula | About 4 light-years across |
| Found | 1990s, by Hubble |
Good to know
- The nebula around it contains as much material as several Suns, all thrown off in a few thousand years.
- It belongs to the Quintuplet Cluster, one of the densest star clusters in the galaxy.
- Visible light from it never reaches us; only infrared gets through the dust.
- Next smaller: Eta Carinae · 3.3 × 10⁸ km
- Next larger: Rho Cassiopeiae · 8.8 × 10⁸ km