Record #00403Space archive
Most Massive Known Star
R136a1 in the Tarantula Nebula of the Large Magellanic Cloud is among the most massive known stars. A 2025 hydrodynamic atmosphere model estimated its present-day mass at roughly 233 solar masses, although other observing and modelling methods yield different ranges.
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Overview
Archive NoteR136a1 resides in the R136 star cluster in 30 Doradus, the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, about 160,000 light-years away. Its high luminosity and powerful stellar winds make direct mass measurement difficult.
Sharper Gemini observations reported in 2022 implied a mass range of roughly 170–230 solar masses. A 2025 hydrodynamic stellar-wind atmosphere analysis yielded 233 solar masses. These broadly neighbouring estimates depend on models and should not be treated as direct weighing.
Record history
1 Milestones- about 233 solar massesR136a1Current Record
Sources
Evidence & ReferencesVerification basis and limitations
Evidence-backedCredible sources support core facts; the comparison scope or corroboration remains incomplete.
Basis: corroborating reliable secondary materials
The peer-reviewed 2025 Astronomy & Astrophysics study derives a present-day mass of 233 solar masses for R136a1 using hydrodynamically consistent stellar-wind atmosphere models. The US NSF's 2022 observational summary reported a lower 170–230 solar-mass estimate. Both are model-dependent and do not amount to a direct dynamical weighing of a single star; the leading-mass claim remains developing.
Comparison boundaries still under review
R136a1's quoted 233 solar masses is a modelled current mass, not its birth mass. The 2022 estimate of about 170–230 solar masses uses a different observational and modelling approach. Rankings are contingent on resolving close companions and updating stellar-wind models.
- Verification assessment
- 2026-11-05
- Last editorial review
- 2026-11-05
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