Posted on Wednesday, July 21 2010 @ 21:34 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Astronomers have observed a star with a mass about 265 times that of our own Sun. This monster star is the most massive ever found, the object is much larger and brighter than what many scientists thought was even possible.
The star is seen to have a mass about 265 times that of our own Sun; but the latest modelling work suggests at birth it could have been bigger, still.
Perhaps as much as 320 times that of the Sun, says Professor Paul Crowther from Sheffield University, UK.
"If it replaced the Sun in our Solar System, it would outshine [it] by as much as the Sun currently outshines the full Moon," the astronomer told BBC News.
The stars were identified by Crowther's team using a combination of new observations on the Very Large Telescope facility in Chile and data gathered previously with the Hubble Space Telescope.
More info
at BBC News.
