At a distance of 16In the 50,000 light-years neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, there is a star that holds records for luminosity and mass. It was discovered back in the 60s of the last century, but it was not until 2010 that it received this title. Only the Hubble telescope can observe this object in detail.
The cluster at the center of the Tarantula Nebula, the furnace of the hottest stars, is a full three points less bright than the human eye. With the help of powerful equipment, astronomers have discovered the brightest stars in such an inconspicuous region. The long-term observation has also taught us a lot of new and interesting things. Introducing Star R136A1.
R136A1 has a mass of 315 rays of sunlight. Astronomers don't yet know which stars are heavier. For a star, mass is the most important parameter. The intensity of the thermonuclear reaction in the core determines the energy of the star, and therefore the luminosity also depends on it. As a result, the temperature reaches an incredible 55,000°C.
Our solar temperature is ten times lower. But sometimes the temperature of R136A1 can reach hundreds of millions of degrees because the hydrogen burns continuously. Most of the energy of R136A1 is converted into X-rays and ultraviolet radiation. This is due to the star's high temperatures, which is why its surface takes on a rich blue hue.
The R136A1 can't boast of a large size. It is about 36 times the diameter of the Sun. And it's not that old — only 1.7 million years old. Due to its young age, it is not exactly typical of the Wolf-Layet star category. Most of these celestial bodies are very old, and their hydrogen burned out long ago and turned into helium.
In 5 seconds, R136A1 releases energy equivalent to the energy of the Sun in a year. The star is 8.7 million times brighter than the Sun and plays a huge role in the region of space in which it is located. It produces one-tenth of all ion currents on the Tarantula Nebula. It also accounts for half of the total radiation of the cluster.
For example, 70 ordinary blue stars can be combined to emit similar energy. If we imagine that R136A1 is located in the position of the Sun, then it will shine on us 100,000 times brighter than our star and 2 times greater than ours. Such a high luminosity can lead to the disruption of many physical interactions, and the star becomes unstable. So the heaviest R136A1 won't be around for long. Such strong radiation and high temperatures overcome gravity and are designed to confine matter. Thus, the sidereal wind ends with 2A speed of 5 kilometers and seconds carries stellar material into space. Scientists estimate that R136A1 weighs 325 solar masses at birth.
In this case, the mass of the star will shrink to 70-80 solar masses after 2 million years. But nothing can be said definitively, because scientists have yet to encounter such a huge star. The force of R136A1 radiation has torn it apart. So one can only speculate at its further evolution.
We can only say with certainty that the life of a star will end in a supernova**. This is because any star with burning helium and a core formed by oxygen, carbon, and other heavy elements cannot easily overcome gravity. All the energy that has been stored will burst out.
After a supernova erupts, there are only two paths: a black hole or a neutron star. Since the core of R136A1 will not be just carbon and oxygen, but iron, the remaining mass after ** will exceed the upper limit of neutron star formation. This means that R136A1 has only one way – to turn into a black hole.
While stars usually quietly collapse into black holes, R136A1 may be an exception. It has so many nickel isotopes to eject that it produces supernovae that can be seen even on Earth. At this moment, we realize that our solar system is very fortunate to be located at a safe distance of 165,000 light years.