The red supergiant VY Canis Majoris is the largest known star in the Milky Way. It has a radius that's 1,420 times that of Sol, which is close to the maximum theoretical radius of a star of such mass, the Hayashi limit. At this size, it's also almost two billion times the volume of Sol.

VY Canis Majoris is also one of the most luminous stars in the galaxy. Viewed from Sol, the star is located within the constellation of Canis Major, Latin for Great(er) Dog. This constellation houses Sirius, which is the brightest star in Earth's night sky: this is due to its proximity to the solar system. While VY Canis Majoris is a far more luminous star, it's also much farther from Sol, and it can't be seen with the naked eye.

Orbiting VY Canis Majoris is just one other celestial body, the class Y dwarf named VY Canis Major B, tiny in comparison.

VY Canis Majoris was one of the first destinations for pioneer explorers during the early phase of testing the original FSD technology.