Well, Betelgeuse's size and distance is still in debate with estimates varying widely

SteveS — 10/15/2013 1:58:58 PM (archived)

I used rounded off numbers from Wikipedia

I don't know what numbers the author in the comparisons used and that is why it raised my interest. It didn't seem right to me.

Snips from Wiki

Its distance from Earth is 641.8 light-years
Combining these data with historical distance estimates of 180 to 815 ly yields a projected radius of the stellar disk of anywhere from 1.2 to 8.9 AU.

Using the Solar System for comparison, the orbit of Mars is about 1.5 AU, Ceres in the asteroid belt 2.7 AU, Jupiter 5.5 AU—so, assuming Betelgeuse occupying the place of the Sun, its photosphere might extend beyond the Jovian orbit, not quite reaching Saturn at 9.5 AU.

The whole thread (12 posts)

Objects in space... - TB - 10/11/2013 5:16:13 PM
- Distance verses size - SteveS - 10/14/2013 5:12:25 PM
  - Typo? - ER - 10/15/2013 12:13:36 AM
    - Well, Betelgeuse's size and distance is still in debate with estimates varying widely - SteveS - 10/15/2013 1:58:58 PM
      - Granted. We know little about the accurate dimensions of the disc, - ER - 10/15/2013 4:36:05 PM
        
        Oh that - SteveS - 10/15/2013 8:11:06 PM
- Another way of looking at it... - ER - 10/11/2013 6:11:13 PM
  - Do you find it odd that the sun and the moon have almost the same apparent diameter? - RobVG - 10/15/2013 1:52:53 AM
    - Its a coincidence. - ER - 10/15/2013 2:59:16 AM
      - Its also a coincidence there's a bright star near the N pole. - ER - 10/15/2013 3:07:13 AM
        
        And a temporary coincidence at that. - TB - 10/15/2013 3:32:27 AM
        
        Gibbous this day our daily bread. - ER - 10/15/2013 4:02:45 AM

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