The sizes of stars

Using a combination of instruments on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have discovered the most massive stars to date, some weighing at birth more than 300 times the mass of the Sun, or twice as much as the currently accepted limit of 150 solar masses. This artist's impression shows the relative sizes of young stars, from the smallest “red dwarfs”, weighing in at about 0.1 solar masses, through low mass “yellow dwarfs” such as the Sun, to massive “blue dwarf” stars weighing eight times more than the Sun, as well as the 300 solar mass star named R136a1.

Credit:

ESO/M. Kornmesser

Over de afbeelding

Id:eso1030c
Type:Ontwerp
Publicatiedatum:21 juli 2010 12:00
Gerelateerde berichten:eso1030
Grootte:2500 x 1406 px

Over het object

Naam:R136a1
Type:Local Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Blue Supergiant
Afstand:170000 lichtjaren
Categorie:Illustrations

Image Formats

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