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

About the Image

Id:eso1030c
Type:Artwork
Release date:21 July 2010, 12:00
Related releases:eso1030
Size:2500 x 1406 px

About the Object

Name:R136a1
Type:Local Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Blue Supergiant
Distance:170000 light years
Category:Illustrations

Image Formats

Large JPEG
255.9 KB
Screensize JPEG
56.6 KB