Object Analysis

R136a1 is a Wolf–Rayet star and is the most massive and most luminous star known, reaching approximately 265 to 315 solar masses. It is located in the R136 star cluster, which sits at the center of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Shining with a luminosity roughly 8 million times that of the Sun, R136a1 is so hot that it emits most of its energy in the ultraviolet spectrum. Its surface temperature is over 50,000 K—nearly ten times hotter than the Sun. It is so massive that it pushes the theoretical limits of how large a star can be without tearing itself apart from radiation pressure.

Stars of this magnitude have extremely short lifespans, likely only a few million years. R136a1 has already shed about 50 solar masses of material through its intense stellar wind. It will likely end its life as a pair-instability supernova, an explosion so powerful it leaves no remnant—not even a black hole—behind.