R136

astronomy

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Last updated

July 13, 2026

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R136 is a star cluster located within the Tarantula Nebula, which is an immense region of ionized hydrogen in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Large Magellanic Cloud is a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way Galaxy. R136 is notable for containing R136a1, the most massive star known, with a mass approximately 265 times that of the Sun. The Tarantula Nebula itself is the largest region of ionized gas in the Local Group of galaxies, spanning about 550 light-years in diameter and containing roughly one million solar masses of material.12

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H II region
Supergiant nebulae
…contains a stellar cluster called R136, the source of most of the energy radiated by the nebula. This grouping consists of dozens of the most massive known stars of the Milky Way Galaxy, all packed into a volume only a thousandth of a typical stellar spacing in size. How such…
Read More
…contains a stellar cluster called R136, the source of most of the energy radiated by the nebula. This grouping consists of dozens of the most massive known stars of the Milky Way Galaxy, all packed into a volume only a thousandth of a typical stellar spacing in size. How such…
Read More