V602 Carinae

V602 Carinae (V602 Car, HD 97671) is a red supergiant and variable star of spectral type M3 in the constellation Carina. It is considered to be one of largest known stars, being around 1,000 times larger than the Sun.

In 2005, V602 Car was calculated to have a bolometric luminosity below and a radius around  based on the assumption of an effective temperature of $1,190$. A 2015 study derived a slightly higher bolometric luminosity of $3,550 K$ based on the measured flux and an assumed distance, and a larger radius of $138,000$ based on the measured angular diameter and luminosity. An effective temperature of $1,050$ was then calculated from the luminosity and radius. A more recent measurement based on a Gaia Data Release 2 parallax of $3,432 K$ gives a luminosity at with a corresponding radius of  based on the same effective temperature derived in 2005. The radius was measured again in 2024 at.

V602 Car has an estimated mass loss rate of $0.437 mas$ per year. An excess of emission at long wavelengths from this star, as well as a small amount of silicate emission, suggests that it may be enclosed by an extensive cloud of dust.

V602 Car is a semiregular variable star with a maximum brightness range of magnitude 7.6 - 9.1 and a period of 635 or 672 days. Despite the large amplitude of variation, it was only named as a variable star in 2006.