R136a1: The Most Massive and Luminous Blue Hypergiant Star

[Orion1]

R136a1, is a blue hypergiant star

R136a1, is a blue hypergiant star, currently on record as the most massive star known, with an estimated 265 solar masses. The star also holds the record for the most luminous at 8,700,000 times the luminosity of the Sun. Like other hypergiant stars that sit above the Eddington limit, R136a1 has been shedding large portions of its own mass in violent outbursts. It is estimated that at its birth the star held 320 solar masses and has been losing 50 solar masses every few million years. It is a member of R136, a Super star cluster near the center of the 30 Doradus complex (also known as the Tarantula Nebula), in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The mass of the star was determined by astronomers at the University of Sheffield using Very Large Telescope in Chile and data from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R136a1

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Love the comparison image. Amazing to think in terms of our own Sun.

Is UY Scuti still the largest known star?
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-...g-to-know-about-biggest-star-in-the-universe/