Scientists clicked the sharpest yet image of R136a1, the biggest known star in the universe. Here’s what it reveals.
R136a1: The biggest star in the universe
We know very little about the universe. Every day, scientists are expanding what we know about it. Using the latest technology, they were successful in capturing the sharpest image of the most massive known star, R136a1. The images of the space are always breathtaking and mesmerizing. While this one may seem similar, it is helping expand and refine our understanding of a star bigger than our Sun. The R136a1 is a star at the heart of the Tarantula Nebula. It is the largest known in the universe. Previous attempts of clicking a sharp image of the star were less successful as the star is present between dust and close to other stars.
This time around, using the 8.1-meter Genemi South Telescope in Chile proved to be successful. “Astronomers have yet to fully understand how the most massive stars — those more than 100 times the mass of the sun — are formed. One particularly challenging piece of this puzzle is obtaining observations of these giants, which typically dwell in the densely populated hearts of dust-shrouded star clusters,” stated the NOIRLab. The NOIRLab is a part of the National Science Foundation and is operating the Gemini South telescope.
What does the sharpest image reveal?
Previously, it was believed that the star was 250-350 times the Sun’s mass. However, new observations reveal that it may be between 170-230 times our Sun’s mass. The image also helped in refining and updating the knowledge of the cosmos. Hence, the observations lead to newer information that “the upper limit on stellar masses may also be smaller than previously thought”. Massive stars live fast and die young as they burn their fuel at a faster pace.
While their lifespan of a few million years sounds like a lot, when compared to the lifetime of our Sun, it seems much shorter. Our Sun has an estimated life span of 10 billion years.