Great Uncle Fred? What is the biggest star in our solar system? (Anonymous, Winter 2009)

Well, anonymous person, there is only one star in our solar system and that is the sun. And is the sun the biggest object in the system which bears its name? You bet it is! The sun contains more than 99 per cent of all the mass of the solar system. It is about 870,000 miles across and you could fit about one million Planet Earths into it. One million! Then again, compared with the largest known star of all, which is called VY Canis Majoris, the sun is not very big at all. VY Canis Majoris, which is about 5,000 light years away, is thought to be 2,100 times bigger than the sun. But yes, the sun is definitely the answer to your question. Definitely.

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