Very large friend following in stellar manner (14)

I believe the answer is:

astronomically

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'very large friend following in stellar manner' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'very large friend following' is the wordplay.
'very large' becomes 'astronomical' (I've seen this before).
'friend following' becomes 'ly' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'astronomical'+'ly'='ASTRONOMICALLY'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for astronomically that I've seen before include "on a vast scale" , "at a high level ?" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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