Radcliffe 136 (R136) is a compact cluster of hot young stars in the 30 Doradus nebula, an enormous region of glowing hydrogen gas in the Large Magellanic Cloud. At one time, the brightest object in R136 was believed to be a single superlative star with at least 3,000 times the mass of the Sun. However, according to astrophyical theory, a star cannot form with a mass of much more than 120 or 150 solar masses. A star of any greater mass would generate light at rate so furious that the pressure of radiation flowing outwards would blow off any additional matter from the outside. So it was recognized that this supermassive object is in reality a tight cluster of individual stars. Prior to the first HST observations in 1990, the best observations, combined with mathematical theory, suggested there were at least 27 stars. Now HST has shown there are at least 3,000 stars in the vicinity.
Camera: WFPC2
Credit: NASA
