**The Largest Recognized Entities in the Cosmos: An Expedition Through Celestial Behemoths**
The universe is immense, extending beyond our comprehension. The observable cosmos measures roughly 92 billion light-years across, representing just a small portion of the whole universe. Within this region, astronomers have identified massive objects and phenomena that put our perceptions of size and proportion to the test. This article delves into the largest recognized entities in the cosmos, organized into planets, stars, galaxies, and structures.
**Planets**
1. **Kepler-435 b**: Discovered in 2015, this gas giant boasts a radius double that of Jupiter, around 86,448 miles. Despite its size, it possesses only 85% of Jupiter’s mass. It orbits its star at a distance of just 0.0948 AU, completing a full orbit in 8.6 days.
2. **HAT-P-67 b**: This planet has a radius of 92,963.74 miles, making it 2.14 times the size of Jupiter while having a density lower than that of marshmallows. It orbits its star at a distance of 0.06505 AU, finishing its orbit in just 4.8 days.
3. **ROXs 42 Bb**: Possibly the largest recognized planet, it has an estimated radius of 91,226.1 miles and a mass of 2.47 * 10^28 kg. There is ongoing debate regarding its classification as either a planet or a brown dwarf.
**Stars**
1. **WOH G64**: Previously the largest identified star, this red supergiant has a radius close to 346 million miles. It has since diminished in size and is now classified as a yellow hypergiant.
2. **UY Scuti**: A variable star with pulsing characteristics, its radius ranges between 393.3 million miles and 736 million miles. It is approximately 5,900 light-years distant from Earth.
3. **VY Canis Majoris**: The current largest star, boasting a radius of 614.42 million miles. It is recognized as the brightest source of infrared radiation recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope.
**Galaxies**
1. **IC 1101**: A colossal lenticular galaxy with a diameter measuring 409.72 thousand light-years. Its core is the largest yet discovered, spanning 13.7 thousand light-years.
2. **A2261-BCG**: An elliptical galaxy with a diameter of 544 thousand light-years. Its core resembles billowy fog and lacks a gravitational anchor due to ejected black holes.
3. **ESO 383-76**: The most extensive elliptical galaxy, measuring between 1.7 to 1.8 million light-years across. Its central black hole is among the heaviest ever found.
**Structures**
1. **Eridanus Supervoid**: A semi-hypothetical void measuring 1.8 billion light-years across, potentially accounting for the CMB Cold Spot’s deficit of background radiation.
2. **Giant GRB Ring**: A circular formation of nine GRBs, 5.6 billion light-years in diameter, indicating a linked cosmic structure.
3. **Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall**: A galaxy filament that stretches 10 billion light-years; its existence is still under scrutiny due to limited data availability.
**Methodology**
This article organizes the most substantial entities in the universe into categories of planets, stars, galaxies, and structures while choosing the largest instances based on their size. Although estimates come with inherent uncertainty, size is typically easier to quantify than mass. The entries are arranged from smallest to largest, with several potential candidates omitted due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
