This Hubble Space Telescope view of the Carina Nebula shows two massive stars in our galaxy, WR 25 [ center ] and Tr 16-244 [ third-brightest star, above and to the left of WR 25 ], some 7,500 light-years away.
NASA, ESA and Jesús Maíz Apellániz (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Spain)
Join Our Community of Science Lovers!
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
This Hubble Space Telescope view of the Carina Nebula shows two massive stars in our galaxy, WR 25 [center] and Tr 16-244 [third-brightest star, above and to the left of WR 25], some 7,500 light-years away. (The bright, golden star directly to the left of WR 25 is less massive but is closer to Earth than the Carina Nebula, making it appear to be of similar size.) Both of these stellar heavyweights actually comprise multiple stars: WR 25 was shown in 2006 to be a binary star—and its heavier constituent is tens of times as massive as the sun in our solar system. Tr 16-244, while probably less massive than WR 25, is actually a three-star system.
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
