Topic summary
V766 Centauri
Extracted from the Wikipedia article HR 5171.
HR 5171, also known as V766 Centauri, is a multiple star system in the constellationCentaurus. The primary star is said to be either an extreme red supergiant (RSG) or recent post-red supergiant (Post-RSG) yellow hypergiant (YHG), both of which suggest it is one of the largest known stars. The star's diameter is uncertain but likely to be between 1,300 and 1,600 times that of the Sun. It is around 3 kiloparsecs (10,000 light-years) from Earth. It is a variable star, and when it is near its maximum brightness, magnitude 6.1, it is faintly visible to the naked eye under excellent observing conditions.