The current record holder

My previous input received a lot of positive reactions. Alhamdulillah. For those who have not yet read it, head over and check it out because this input is an extension of it. And for those who have already seen it, you are free to read it again before continuing with this one, if you wish.

To sum it up, that input brought up a comparison between our sun and a truly impressively sized star… “I was reminded of a video that I saw on Youtube… “The biggest star known to man”. Our sun being compared to the largest star we know.” However, what we should keep in mind about astronomy, or science in general, is that it does not stand still. We continue to make new discoveries all the time. That video I posted, which shows an impressive line of stars, was published on Youtube in 2009… after I published the article I discovered that, at present time, there is another star that is even bigger than the one shown in the video. And for those who saw the video… I can imagine the shocked reaction… seriously? Bigger than that??? Yes.

The star shown at the end of the video is a star called CY Canis Majoris. The current record holder of being the largest star known to us is a star called Stephenson 2-18. I will show you their size difference.

So… to sum up the size comparison with images… here is our sun… compared to Earth…

Makes you feel small, right? Read on…

Here is the star shown in the video, VY Canis Majoris, shown in comparison to our sun. Mind blowingly impressive, isn’t it? So let’s see the biggest star we know right now, compared to this star we’ve just seen…

I am sure that many of you may wonder… can you see these things in the nightsky? The two stars compared here are too far away to be seen with the human eye, you would need a telescope for that. I may write a separate input about the distances, which are also very impressive. But many of the stars shown in the video from the previous input can be seen clearly in the nightsky. For example, the star Betelgeuse (at around 45 seconds into the video), is a part of the constellation Orion. The star Rigel (shown just before it), can also be seen fairly near to it, it is also a part of Orion. Both of them can be seen shining beautifully.

With all these impressive stars in mind, I would like to point you to their Creator with the following words…

سورة الفرقان ٦١
تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ فِي السَّمَاءِ بُرُوجًا وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا سِرَاجًا وَقَمَرًا مُّنِيرًا

سورة الصافات ٥-٤
إِنَّ إِلَـٰهَكُمْ لَوَاحِدٌ
رَّبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَرَبُّ الْمَشَارِقِ

سورة الأنعام ٩٧
وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ النُّجُومَ لِتَهْتَدُوا بِهَا فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ ۗ قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ

سورة النازعات ٢٩-٢٧
أَأَنتُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَمِ السَّمَاءُ ۚ بَنَاهَا
رَفَعَ سَمْكَهَا فَسَوَّاهَا
وَأَغْطَشَ لَيْلَهَا وَأَخْرَجَ ضُحَاهَا

Surah Al-Furqaan 25:61
Blessed is He Who made constellations in the skies, and placed therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light;

Surah As-Saaffaat 37:4-5
Verily, verily, your Allah is one!-
Lord of the heavens and of the earth and all between them, and Lord of every point at the rising of the sun!

Surah Al-An’aam 6:97
It is He Who maketh the stars (as beacons) for you, that ye may guide yourselves, with their help, through the dark spaces of land and sea: We detail Our signs for people who know.

Surah An-Naazi’aat 79:27-29
What! Are ye the more difficult to create or the heaven (above)? (Allah) hath constructed it:
On high hath He raised its canopy, and He hath given it order and perfection.
Its night doth He endow with darkness, and its splendour doth He bring out (with light).

While it is hard to truly imagine the sizes of these stars, much less the size of the universe itself… it is much harder to imagine what the Creator of it all is truly capable of.

سورة فاطر ٤١
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ أَن تَزُولَا ۚ وَلَئِن زَالَتَا إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا

Surah Faatir 35:41
It is Allah Who sustains the heavens and the earth, lest they cease (to function): and if they should fail, there is none – not one – can sustain them thereafter: Verily He is Most Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving.

SubhanAllah.

I hope you found this an interesting input and that it has brought something to consider.

The best of times to you all inshallah.
Peace, happiness, and stay faithful.