With the help of NASA/ESA Hubble Telescope‘s unique ultraviolet capabilities, astronomers have been able to identify nine monster stars.
The masses of these stars are more than 100 times the mass of the sun in the star cluster R136 making it the largest cluster of massive stars ever identified in records.
For the very first time, a team of scientists have made use of the Hubble Space Telescope and combined pictures which were captured by the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) to be able to unveil the young star cluster R136 in ultraviolet light.
R136 is located within the Tarantula Nebula around 170,000 light years away. The cluster comprises of huge, luminous stars that radiate their energy in the UV range of the spectrum. The stars which have been spotted are 30 million times brighter than the sun when combined.
According to lead author, Paul Crowther, there are some areas of science that can only be accessed by the Hubble Space Telescope only.
The results of the findings will further be published in the monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. These results raise several questions regarding the formation of massive stars.
Image and Story Credit: NASA.gov