BAT99-98

BAT99-98 is a star in the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is located near the R136 cluster in the 30 Doradus nebula. At 226 M_☉ and 5,000,000 L_☉ it is the third most massive and the fifth most luminous star known.[1]

BAT99-98

Observation data Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation	Dorado
Right ascension	05^h 38^m 39.147^s
Declination	−69° 06′ 21.20″
Apparent magnitude (V)	13.70[1]
Characteristics
Evolutionary stage	Wolf-Rayet star
Spectral type	WN6[1]
B−V color index	-0.10[2]
Astrometry
Distance	165,000 ly (50,600 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)	-8.11[1]
Absolute bolometric magnitude (Mbol)	-12.0
Details
Mass	226[1] M☉
Radius	37.5[1] R☉
Luminosity	5,000,000[1] L☉
Luminosity (visual, LV)	141,000[1] L☉
Temperature	45,000[1] K
Age	~2 Myr
Other designations
Brey 79, NGC 2070 MEL J, SSTISAGEMC J053839.14-690621.2, BAT99 98, LMC AB 12, Melnick 49, 2MASS J05383914-6906211, UCAC4 105-014273
Database references
SIMBAD	data

Observations

A 1978 survey carried out by J. Melnick covered the 30 Doradus region and found six new W-R stars, all belonging to the WN sequence. The survey observed stars that were above magnitude 14 and that were within two arcminutes of the centre of the 30 Doradus nebula, and BAT99-98 was labelled as star J. It was found to have an apparent magnitude of 13.5 and a spectral type of WN-5.[3]

The following year, 13 new Wolf Rayet stars in the LMC were reported, one of which was Mel J. It was numbered 12, referred to as AB 12, or LMC AB 12 to distinguish it from the better-known SMC AB stars.[4]

Melnick conducted another study of stars in NGC 2070 and gave BAT99-98 the number 49, referred to as Melnick 49, this time giving the spectral type WN7.[5]

Neither the AB12 nor Mel J designations are in common use, although Melnick 49 is sometimes seen. More commonly, LMC Wolf Rayet stars are referred to by R (Radcliffe Observatory) numbers, Brey (Breysacher catalogue[6]) numbers, or BAT99[7] numbers.

Characteristics

The star is located near the R136 cluster and shares similar mass-luminosity properties to the massive stars in R136. It is estimated that at its birth that the star held 250 M_☉ and has since lost 20 M_☉.[1] It sheds a large amount of mass through a stellar wind that moves at 1,600 km/s.[1] The star has a surface temperature of 45,000 K and a luminosity of 5,000,000 L_☉. Although the star is very luminous due to its high temperature, it is only 141,000 times brighter than the sun visually. It is classified as a WN6 star.

Fate

The future of BAT99-98 depends on its mass loss. It is thought that stars this massive will never lose enough mass to avoid a catastrophic end. The result is likely to be a supernova, hypernova, gamma-ray burst, or perhaps almost no visible explosion, and leaving behind a black hole or neutron star. The exact details depend heavily on the timing and amount of the mass loss, with current models not fully reproducing observed stars, but the most massive stars in the local universe are expected to produce type Ib or Ic supernovae, sometimes with a gamma-ray burst, and leave behind a black hole.[8]

See also

• List of most massive stars
• List of most luminous stars
• Lynx Arc

References

1. Hainich, R.; Rühling, U.; Todt, H.; Oskinova, L. M.; Liermann, A.; Gräfener, G.; Foellmi, C.; Schnurr, O.; Hamann, W. -R. (2014). "The Wolf-Rayet stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 565: A27. arXiv:1401.5474. Bibcode:2014A&A...565A..27H. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201322696.
2. Doran, E. I.; Crowther, P. A.; de Koter, A.; Evans, C. J.; McEvoy, C.; Walborn, N. R.; Bastian, N.; Bestenlehner, J. M.; Grafener, G.; Herrero, A.; Kohler, K.; Maiz Apellaniz, J.; Najarro, F.; Puls, J.; Sana, H.; Schneider, F. R. N.; Taylor, W. D.; van Loon, J. Th.; Vink, J. S. (2013). "The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey - XI. A census of the hot luminous stars and their feedback in 30 Doradus". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 558: A134. arXiv:1308.3412v1. Bibcode:2013A&A...558A.134D. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201321824.
3. Melnick, J. (1978). "More Wolf-Rayet stars in 30 Doradus". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series. 34: 383–385. Bibcode:1978A&AS...34..383M.
4. Azzopardi, M.; Breysacher, J. (1979). "New Wolf-Rayet stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 75: 243. Bibcode:1979A&A....75..243A.
5. Melnick, J. (1985). "The 30 Doradus nebula. I - Spectral classification of 69 stars in the central cluster". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 153: 235. Bibcode:1985A&A...153..235M.
6. Breysacher, J. (1981). "Spectral Classification of Wolf-Rayet Stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement. 43: 203. Bibcode:1981A&AS...43..203B.
7. Breysacher, J.; Azzopardi, M.; Testor, G. (1999). "The fourth catalogue of Population I Wolf-Rayet stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series. 137 (1): 117–145. Bibcode:1999A&AS..137..117B. doi:10.1051/aas:1999240.
8. Woosley, S. E.; Heger, A. (2015). "The Deaths of Very Massive Stars". Very Massive Stars in the Local Universe. Astrophysics and Space Science Library. 412: 199. arXiv:1406.5657. Bibcode:2015ASSL..412..199W. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-09596-7_7. ISBN 978-3-319-09595-0.