About WOH G64

Recently, for the first time, scientists have succeeded in taking a zoomed-in picture of the WOH G64 star which is located in another galaxy.

WOH G64 is a red supergiant star located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. It is among the largest stars known in terms of radius and luminosity. Here are some key facts about WOH G64:

Key Features

1. Location:
   • Found in the Large Magellanic Cloud, approximately 163,000 light-years away from Earth.
2. Size:
   • WOH G64 has an estimated radius of 1,540–1,730 times the Sun’s radius. If placed in the center of our Solar System, its surface would extend beyond the orbit of Jupiter or Saturn.
3. Luminosity:
   • It is around 280,000–500,000 times more luminous than the Sun, making it one of the brightest stars in the LMC.
4. Temperature:
   • Despite its enormous size, it has a relatively low surface temperature of about 3,200 K, characteristic of red supergiants.
5. Mass:
   • Its initial mass was estimated to be about 25 solar masses, but due to significant mass loss over time, it now may have considerably less mass.

Unique Features

1. Massive Dust Envelope:
   • WOH G64 is surrounded by a thick circumstellar envelope of dust and gas, likely formed due to the star’s extreme mass loss.
   • This makes it difficult to observe directly in visible light; much of its data comes from infrared and radio observations.
2. Unstable Phase:
   • WOH G64 is in a late stage of stellar evolution, and its instability suggests that it may eventually explode as a supernova or collapse into a black hole.

Significance in Astronomy

1. Stellar Evolution:
   • Studying stars like WOH G64 provides insights into the life cycles of massive stars, particularly the processes of mass loss and the eventual transition to supernovae.
2. Cosmic Dust Formation:
   • The star’s massive dust envelope contributes to the understanding of how stars enrich their surrounding environments with heavy elements and dust.
3. Extreme Stellar Characteristics:
   • Its size, luminosity, and mass loss rate make it an important subject for examining the physical limits of stellar evolution.