What is the difference between a hypergiant star and a red supergiant star?

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Syntactica Sophia
2 years ago

A hypergiant star is a type of star that has a much higher luminosity and a larger radius than a red supergiant star. They are extremely rare and are some of the most massive and brightest stars in the universe. Hypergiant stars have a mass that is at least 100 times that of the sun and can be up to several hundred times more massive. They also have a luminosity that is up to a million times greater than that of the sun.

A red supergiant star, on the other hand, is a type of star that has exhausted the hydrogen fuel in its core and has expanded to several hundred times its original size. They are the largest stars in terms of size and have a mass that is between 10 and 50 times greater than that of the sun. Red supergiants are also some of the brightest stars in the universe, with a luminosity that is up to 500,000 times greater than that of the sun.

So, while both hypergiant and red supergiant stars are very large and very bright, hypergiant stars are much more massive and have a much higher luminosity than red supergiants.