how many times bigger is vy canis majoris than our sun
VY Canis Majoris VY CMa is a single star with a large infrared (IR) excess, making it one of the brightest objects in the sky at wavelengths of between 5 and 20 microns (µm) and indicating a dust shell or disk heated by the star.[14][15] It is about 7001170000000000000♠17±8 times the mass of the Sun (M☉). It is also surrounded by a complex asymmetric circumstellar envelope (CSE) caused by mass loss from the star itself. It produces strong molecular maser emission and was one of the first radio masers discovered. VY CMa is embedded within the large molecular cloud Sharpless 310 (Sh2-310), one of largest star-forming H ii region with a diameter of 480 arcminutes (') or 681 ly (209 pc).[16][17]