Look Out, Pistol Star. Meet R136a1, The Most Massive Known Star...

[Synthetic Frost]

I haven't been able to make the trip myself, since R136a1 is in the Tarantula Nebula in the R136 supercluster of the LMC. But R136a1 is THE most massive star known, as well as the most luminous, at over 7,400,000 times the luminosity of our sun. Though it is not the largest star. Just the most massive, at over 320 solar masses.

I wonder if we'll get the galaxy drive at some point like at the end of the first Elite. I'd love to go visit it.

 

[Jaybong]

anyone visited yet?

 

[reverendK]

i might if i could find it

 

[Jaybong]

Nevermind, it's in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Can't go there yet. Also it's probably already dead with the photons from it's supernova reaching us anytime.
https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/mostly-mute-monday-the-largest-star-in-the-universe-7368887e3dc

 

[Helios Apollo]

I love looking at YV (or is it VY) Canis Majoris on the Galaxy Map. That's a huge beast.

 

[Synthetic Frost]

I love looking at YV (or is it VY) Canis Majoris on the Galaxy Map. That's a huge beast.

Yup. I even mentioned it just yesterday in another thread. Though the point of this thread wasn't about the largest stars. Just the most massive. There's a big difference. The Pistol Star and R136a1 aren't actually anywhere near as large as VY Canis Majoris, Sagittarii, or UY Scuti. They're just so heavy that they've compressed under their own weight.

Though, I have no idea how this thread got bumped. I made it like 4 months ago.