A scientist working at the University of Sheffield in the UK has discovered the largest star ever found.

The scientist, Paul Crowther, professor of astrophysics, led an international team of scientists using both the Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope to make the discovery.

What they found was a star, R136a1, located in the Tarantula Nebula within the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Large Magellanic Cloud is a small galaxy neighboring the Milky Way.

R136a1 surprised the scientists by its massive bulk, roughly 265 times larger than the sun. The star, which burns its fuel at an unusually rapid rate because of its massive size, was thought to have been much larger in the past, as much as 320 times larger than the sun when it was "born."

Discussing his team's findings, Professor Crowther said: "Unlike humans, these stars are born heavy and lose weight as they age. Being a little over a million years old, the most extreme star R136a1 is already `middle-aged´ and has undergone an intense weight loss programme, shedding a fifth of its initial mass over that time, or more than fifty solar masses. Owing to the rarity of these monsters, I think it is unlikely that this new record will be broken any time soon."

The finding sheds light on just how big stars may become. Once a star reaches a certain size, it had been thought that the outflow of energy from the star would be enough to begin tearing it apart. This limit to star size, known as the "Eddington Limit" after UK scientist Arthur Eddington, was previously thought to be about 150 solar masses.

As spectacular as this huge celestial body may be, its eventual demise may prove even more spectacular. According to the Sheffield University press release announcing the discovery, "Such massive stars have the potential of creating exceptionally bright 'pair instability supernovae' at the end of their lives, blowing themselves completely apart without any remnants, and dispersing up to ten solar masses of iron into their surroundings."

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ChayD said:

Surely that should be heaviest ... I think VY Canis Major is the largest in size, I'm assuming that this discovery has a higher mass, even though it's smaller than VY CMa.

July 21, 2010

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rogerkmc said:

Are they sure? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...nown_stars

July 22, 2010

Jesse said:

hm How do they know it's an abnormally large star? What if it's a regular size and we're the ones that are abnormally small?

July 22, 2010

roger said:

large enough as usual, journalist confuse facts, it is not 265 time "larger", it is 265 times more massive than our sun, whereas Canis is "only" 30 - 40 times more massive, but ~9.000.000.000 suns could fit in Canis.

July 22, 2010

Michael from Iowa said:

... R136a1 is the most massive star ever discovered, however it is only about 30 solar radii (thirty times the actual size of our sun) VY Canis Majoris, though less massive, is an estimated 2000 solar radii.

July 22, 2010

Professor Asif Wright said:

Black Mass pushing R136a1 It has come up three times before R136a1 has a plus mass value of R127b1 there you will find the largest star. try again you young minds.

July 23, 2010

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August 03, 2010 | url

John Dumas said:

... What happens to theories based in part on the "Eddington Limit" do they get hunted down and revised or do they become "built in error" in so many other theories that have some basis in long debunked building blocks, but have become entrenched.

August 04, 2010