Largest Known Star in Universe Tearing Itself Apart

The largest star in the known Universe is dying and will soon explode, astronomers said. The star, named W26, is in the Westerlund 1 cluster of clouds, some 16,000 light years from Earth in the southern constellation of Ara. Westerlund 1 is the most massive cluster of stars in our galaxy, home to several hundred of thousand stars. W26 has a radius 1,500 larger than the Sun and is one of the most luminous red supergiants known. Such stars are believed to be highly evolved, which suggests its ...

© La Voix de l'Amérique - jeudi 17 octobre 2013