British astronomers discover largest sample of 9 monster stars

British astronomers have discovered largest sample cluster of nine monster stars named as R136 using NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
The cluster  is the largest group of very massive stars ever identified. The research findings were published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Key facts

• The R136 cluster of monster stars have masses over 100 times and are 30 million times brighter than of our Sun in the star cluster located about 170,000 light-years away.
• It is located in the Tarantula Nebula within the Large Magellanic Cloud – a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way.
• The young cluster hosts many extremely massive, hot and luminous stars whose energy is mostly radiated in the ultraviolet (UV).

Month: Current Affairs - March, 2016