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This is a list of stars arranged by their absolute magnitude – their intrinsic stellar luminosity. This cannot be observed directly, so instead must be calculated from the apparent magnitude (the brightness as seen from Earth), the distance to each star, and a correction for interstellar extinction. The entries in the list below are further corrected to provide the bolometric magnitude, i.e. integrated over all wavelengths; this relies upon measurements in multiple photometric filters and extrapolation of the stellar spectrum based on the stellar spectral type and/or effective temperature.
Entries give the bolometric luminosity in multiples of the luminosity of the Sun (L☉) and the bolometric absolute magnitude. As with all magnitude systems in astronomy, the latter scale is logarithmic and inverted i.e. more negative numbers are more luminous.
Most stars on this list are not bright enough to be visible to the naked eye from Earth, because of their high distances, high extinction, or because they emit most of their light outside the visible range. For a list of the brightest stars seen from Earth, see the list of brightest stars. There are three stars with over 1 million L☉ and visible to the naked eye: WR 22, WR 24 and Eta Carinae. All of these stars are located in the Carina nebula.
Measurement
Accurate measurement of stellar luminosities is difficult, even when the apparent magnitude is measured accurately, for four reasons:
- The distance d to the star must be known, to convert apparent to absolute magnitude. Absolute magnitude is the apparent magnitude a star would have if it were 10 parsecs (~32 light years) away from the viewer. Because apparent brightness decreases as the square of the distance (i.e. as 1/d2), a small error (e.g. 10%) in determining d implies an error ~2× as large (thus 20%) in luminosity (see binomial approximation). Stellar distances are only directly measured accurately out to d ~1,000 light years.[citation needed]
- The observed magnitudes must be corrected for the absorption or extinction of intervening interstellar or circumstellar dust and gas. This correction can be enormous and difficult to determine precisely. For example, until accurate infrared observations became possible ~50 years ago, the Galactic Center of the Milky Way was totally obscured to visual observations.
- The magnitudes at the wavelengths measured must be corrected for those not observed. "Absolute bolometric magnitude" (which term is redundant, practically speaking, since bolometric magnitudes are nearly always "absolute", i.e. corrected for distance) is a measure of the star's luminosity, summing over its emission at all wavelengths, and thus the total amount of energy radiated by a star every second. Bolometric magnitudes can only be estimated by correcting for unobserved portions of the spectrum that have to be modelled, which is always an issue, and often a large correction. The list is dominated by hot blue stars which produce the majority of their energy output in the ultraviolet, but these may not necessarily be the brightest stars at visual wavelengths.
- A large proportion of stellar systems discovered with very high luminosity have later been found to be binary. Usually, this results in the total system luminosity being reduced and spread among several components. These binaries are common both because the conditions that produce high mass high luminosity stars also favour multiple star systems, but also because searches for highly luminous stars are inevitably biased towards detecting systems with multiple more normal stars combining to appear luminous.[citation needed]
Because of all these problems, other references may give very different values for the most luminous stars (different ordering or different stars altogether). Data on different stars can be of somewhat different reliability, depending on the attention one particular star has received as well as largely differing physical difficulties in analysis (see the Pistol Star for an example). The last stars in the list are familiar nearby stars put there for comparison, and not among the most luminous known. It may also interest the reader to know that the Sun is more luminous than approximately 95% of all known stars in the local neighbourhood (out to, say, a few hundred light years), due to enormous numbers of somewhat less massive stars that are cooler and often much less luminous. For perspective, the overall range of stellar luminosities runs from dwarfs less than 1/10,000th as luminous as the Sun to supergiants over 1,000,000 times more luminous.
Data
| Wolf–Rayet star |
| Luminous blue variable |
| O-type star |
| B-type star |
| A-type star |
| F-type star |
This list is currently limited mostly to objects in our galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds, but a few stars in other local group galaxies can now be examined in enough detail to determine their luminosities. Some suspected binaries in this magnitude range are excluded because there is insufficient information about the luminosity of the individual components. Selected fainter stars are also shown for comparison. Despite their extreme luminosity, many of these stars are nevertheless too distant to be observed with the naked eye. Stars that are at least sometimes visible to the unaided eye have their apparent magnitude (6.5 or brighter) highlighted in blue. Thanks to gravitational lensing, stars that are strongly magnified can be seen at much larger distances. The first star in the list, Godzilla[1] — an LBV in the distant Sunburst galaxy — is probably the brightest star ever observed, although it is believed to be undergoing a temporary episode of increased luminosity that has lasted at least seven years, in a similar manner to the Great Eruption of Eta Carinae that was witnessed in the 19th century.
The first list shows a few of the known stars with an estimated luminosity of 1 million L☉ or greater, including the stars in open cluster, OB association and H II region. The majority of stars thought to be more than 1 million L☉ are shown, but the list is incomplete.
The second list gives some notable stars for the purpose of comparison.
 |
| Star name | Bolometric luminosity (L☉, Sun = 1) |
Absolute bolometric magnitude |
Approx. distance from Earth (ly) |
Apparent visible magnitude |
Effective temperature (K) | Spectral type | Link | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAT99-98 (in Tarantula Nebula of LMC) | 5,012,000 | -12.01 | 165,000 | 13.38 | 45,000 | WN6 | SIMBAD | [2][3] |
| G0.238-0.071 (in Galactic Center) | 5,012,000 | -12.01 | 26,000 | 14.37 (J band) | 39,500-44,000 | WN11h | SIMBAD | [4][5] |
| 867 A (in NGC 604 of Triangulum Galaxy) | 4,932,000 | -12 | 2,700,000 | 16.29 (combined) | 42,400 | O4Iab | SIMBAD | [6] |
| R136a1 (in Tarantula Nebula of LMC) | 4,677,000 | -11.94 | 163,000 | 12.28 | 46,000 | WN5h | SIMBAD | [7][8] |
| M33-013406.63 A (in Triangulum Galaxy) | 4,677,000 | -11.935 | 3,000,000 | 16.084 (combined) | 30,000 | O9.5Ia | SIMBAD | [9][10][a] |
| 867 B (in NGC 604 of Triangulum Galaxy) | 4,395,000 | -11.87 | 2,700,000 | 16.29 (combined) | 42,400 | O4Ia | SIMBAD | [6] |
| Westerhout 49-2 (in Westerhout 49) | 4,365,000 | -11.86 | 36,200 | 18.246 (J band) | 35,500 | O2-3.5If* | SIMBAD | [11][12] |
| HD 37836 (in LMC) | 4,169,000 | -11.81 | 163,000 | 10.55 | 28,200 | B0Iae | SIMBAD | [13] |
| Sk -69° 249 A (in NGC 2074 of LMC) | 4,130,000 | -11.8 | 160,000 | 10.68 | 38,900 | O7If | SIMBAD | [14][15] |
| η Carinae A (in Trumpler 16 of Carina Nebula) | 4,000,000 | -11.77 | 7,500 | 4.3 (combined) | 9,400-35,200 | LBV | SIMBAD | [16][17][18][b] |
| V4998 Sagittarii (near Quintuplet Cluster) | 3,981,000 | -11.76 | 25,000 | 12.534 (J band) | 12,000 | WN5b | SIMBAD | [19][12] |
| R136c (in Tarantula Nebula of LMC) | 3,802,000 | -11.71 | 163,000 | 13.43 | 51,000 | WN5h | SIMBAD | [20][3] |
| Arches-F7 (WR 102aj in Arches Cluster) | 3,802,000 | -11.71 | 25,000 | 15.74 (J band) | 32,900 | WN8-9h | SIMBAD | [21][22] |
| R136a3 (in Tarantula Nebula of LMC) | 3,631,000 | -11.66 | 163,000 | 12.97 | 50,000 | WN5h | SIMBAD | [7][8] |
| Melnick 42 (in Tarantula Nebula of LMC) | 3,631,000 | -11.66 | 163,000 | 12.78 | 47,300 | O2If* | SIMBAD | [23][3] |
| Mercer 23-2 (WR 125–3 in Mercer 23 near Galactic plane) | 3,631,000 | -11.66 | 21,200 | 8.646 (J band) | 38,000 | WNL7-8 | SIMBAD | [24][12][c] |
| R136a2 (in Tarantula Nebula of LMC) | 3,548,000 | -11.64 | 163,000 | 12.34 | 50,000 | WN5h | SIMBAD | [7][8] |
| NGC 2403 V14 (in NGC 2403) | 3,436,000 | -11.6 | 10,314,000 | 18.83 | 7,000 | F5Ie | SIMBAD | [25] |
| G0.070+0.025 (in Galactic Center) | 3,311,000 | -11.56 | 26,000 | 14.799 (J band) | 45,000 | O4-6If+ | SIMBAD | [4] |
| Pistol Star (V4647 Sagittarii in Quintuplet cluster) | 3,300,000 | -11.556 | 25,000 | 11.79 (J band) | 11,800 | LBV | SIMBAD | [26][27] |
| Mercer 30-1 A (WR 46-3 A in Mercer 30 of Dragonfish Nebula) | 3,236,000 | -11.535 | 40,000 | 10.33 (J band) | 32,200 | O6-7.5If+ | SIMBAD | [28][d] |
| VFTS 682 (in Tarantula Nebula of LMC) | 3,236,000 | -11.535 | 164,000 | 16.08 | 52,200 | WN5h | SIMBAD | [23][3] |
| WR 42e (in HD 97950 of NGC 3603) | 3,200,000 | -11.523 | 25,000 | 14.53 | 43,000 | O3If*/WN6 | SIMBAD | [29][e] |
| R99 (in N44 of LMC) | 3,162,000 | -11.51 | 163,000 | 11.52 | 28,000 | Ofpe/WN9 | SIMBAD | [2][30] |
| VFTS 1022 (in Tarantula Nebula of LMC) | 3,020,000 | -11.46 | 164,000 | 13.47 | 42,200 | O3.5If*/WN7 | SIMBAD | [23][3] |
| WR 24 (in Collinder 228 of Carina Nebula) | 2,951,000 | -11.435 | 8,200 | 6.48 | 50,100 | WN6ha-w | SIMBAD | [31][32] |
| Peony Star (WR 102ka in Peony Nebula near Galactic Center) | 2,951,000 | -11.435 | 26,000 | 12.978 (J band) | 25,100 | WN10 | SIMBAD | [33] |
| CXOGC J174528.6-285605 (WR 101–6 in Galactic Center) | 2,884,000 | -11.41 | 26,000 | 14.46 (J band) | 30,000 | WN8-9h | SIMBAD | [22] |
| G0.059-0.068 (in Galactic Center) | 2,884,000 | -11.41 | 26,000 | 13.337 (J band) | 39,500-44,000 | B0-1Ia+/WNLh | SIMBAD | [4][5] |
| HD 97950 B (WR 43b in HD 97950 of NGC 3603) | 2,884,000 | -11.41 | 24,000 | 11.33 | 42,000 | WN6h | SIMBAD | [34][35] |
| HD 38282 A (in Tarantula Nebula of LMC) | 2,754,000 | -11.35 | 163,000 | 11.11 (combined) | 50,000 | WN5-6h | SIMBAD | [36] |
| Melnick 34 A (in Tarantula Nebula of LMC) | 2,692,000 | -11.335 | 163,000 | 13.09 (combined) | 53,000 | WN5h | SIMBAD | [37][3] |
| WR 102hb (in Quintuplet Cluster) | 2,630,000 | -11.31 | 26,000 | 13.9 (J band) | 25,100 | WN9h | SIMBAD | [38][27] |
| 578 C (in NGC 604 of Triangulum Galaxy) | 2,564,000 | -11.28 | 2,700,000 | 15.97 (combined) | 34,000 | O9II | SIMBAD | [6] |
| BAT99-80 A (in NGC 2044 of LMC) | 2,512,000 | -11.26 | 165,000 | 13 (combined) | 45,000 | O4If | SIMBAD | [2][39] |
| R146 (in Tarantula Nebula of LMC) | 2,512,000 | -11.26 | 164,000 | 13.11 | 63,000 | WN4 | SIMBAD | [2][3] |
| VFTS 482 (in Tarantula Nebula of LMC) | 2,512,000 | -11.26 | 164,000 | 12.95 | 42,200 | O3If*/WN6-A | SIMBAD | [23][3] |
| HD 97950 A1a (WR 43a A in HD 97950 of NGC 3603) | 2,455,000 | -11.235 | 24,000 | 11.18 (combined) | 42,000 | WN6h | SIMBAD | [34][35] |
| WR 102ea (in Quintuplet Cluster) | 2,455,000 | -11.235 | 26,000 | 13.18 (J band) | 25,100 | WN9h | SIMBAD | [38][27] |
| HD 38282 B (in Tarantula Nebula of LMC) | 2,455,000 | -11.235 | 163,000 | 11.11 (combined) | 45,000 | WN6-7h | SIMBAD | [36] |
| CXOGC J174516.1-284909 (WR 101–2 in Galactic Center) | 2,399,000 | -11.21 | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=BAT99-104