The following pictures show n unit circles covering the largest known circle (of radius r ).
n=1
r = 1
Trivial.
n=3
r = 2 / √3 = 1.154+
Trivial.
n=4
r = √2 = 1.414+
Trivial.
n=5
r = 1.641+
Proved by Károly Bezdek
in 1983.
n=6
r = 1.798+
Proved by Károly Bezdek
in 1979.
n=7
r = 2
Trivial.
n=8
r = 2.246+
Proved by Gábor Fejes Tóth
in 1996.
n=9
r = √2 + 1 = 2.414+
Proved by Gábor Fejes Tóth
in 1996.
n=10
r = 2.532+
Proved by Gábor Fejes Tóth
in 2005.
n=11
r = 2.631+
Found by Hans Melissen
in 1997.
n=12
r = 2.769+
Found by Hans Melissen
in 1997.
n=13
r = 2.884+
Found by Jeremy Tan
in 2018.
n=14
r = 3.014+
Found by Jeremy Tan
in 2018.
n=15
r = 3.143+
Found by Jeremy Tan
in 2018.
n=16
r = 3.244+
Found by Jeremy Tan
in 2018.
n=17
r = 3.349+
Found by Jeremy Tan
in 2018.
n=18
r = 3.446+
Found by Jeremy Tan
in 2018.
n=19
r = √13 = 3.605+
Found by Jeremy Tan
in 2018.
n=20
r = 3.692+
Found by Jeremy Tan
in 2018.
n=21
r = 3.804+
Found by Jeremy Tan
in 2018.
n=22
r = 3.948+
Found by Jeremy Tan
in 2018.
n=23
r = 4.000+
Found by Jeremy Tan
in 2018.
n=24
r = 4.076+
Found by Jeremy Tan
in 2018.
n=25
r = √6 + √3 = 4.181+
Found by Jeremy Tan
in 2018.