EARLY STARS; MAGELLANIC CLOUDS; STAR CLUSTERS; STELLAR LUMINOSITY; STELLAR MASS; ASTRONOMICAL SPECTROSCOPY; FAINT OBJECT CAMERA; O STARS; POINT SPREAD FUNCTIONS; SUPERGIANT STARS; TELESCOPES
Abstract :
[en] It is shown that one of the most luminous stars of the LMC, HDE269676, is in fact a massive star cluster. On the basis of observations with the ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT) the main components of the cluster are classified and it is shown that there are several O type stars in HDE269676 instead of the one or two previously known. This is interesting for the initial mass function in the LMC and implies that the number of O type stars in the LMC is generally underestimated. The most massive star of the system being about a factor three less luminous than previously estimated is a super-giant O5f with a zero age main sequence mass of about 80 solar.
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Heydari-Malayeri, M.; European Southern Observatory, Garching, Federal Republic of Germany
Hutsemekers, Damien ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Astroph. extragalactique et observations spatiales (AEOS)
Language :
English
Title :
The very massive star HDE269676 and its components
