A monster star appears to be taking shape in a cloud of gas and dust about 8,000 light-years from Earth. It may be more than 1300 times the mass of the Sun — one of the heavier “protostars” yet seen. What’s more, it’s feeding faster than any other protostar. So this amazing object could produce a monster star.
MIR 2 is in a stellar nursery in Centaurus. From the southern states, the constellation stands low in the south around midnight. The nursery is too faint to see without a telescope.
The nursery is young, so it contains few natal stars. But MIR 2 makes up for the lack of siblings. It accounts for about half of all the energy coming from the nursery.
Recent studies suggest the protostar is just 40,000 years old. So it offers a unique chance to study how such massive stars are born.
MIR 2’s birth is controlled by two forces. Gravity pulls in material from the…
