The Biggest Star In The Universe Is Too Small

R136a1 is the most massive star that astronomers have ever discovered. It's so massive you might think the laws of physics wouldn't allow it. But it turns out that its current mass estimate is actually so low that it threatens our understanding of how the universe got to be where it is, today!

Hosted by: Reid Reimers (he/him)
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[tomasbeblar]

Scientists were wrong, and that's just as exciting as them being right.

[Dippedinsilver]

I get so excited when I learn that scientists come across something they can’t explain. It means we have the opportunity to learn something new about our universe.

[cjxgraphics]

Hey! Mandela effect in the thumbnail!
Seems a lot of us distinctly remember “objects in mirror may be closer than they appear”, but the phrase has always been
“objects in mirror are closer than they appear”.

Despite my distinct memories of having read it a thousand times and seen it in movies as “objects may appear…”

[perryrhodan]

This speaker has become my favorite of the group. Lots of voice inflection and personality in his narration draws the listener in. Good work!

[FCHenchy]

Finally, someone admits that size AND technique matter.

[SimonMoon]

0:52 "If you want to study the stars, you're going to want to use a telescope." For some reason, I assumed that that was going to lead into a sponsorship ad. "You should buy X brand of telescope because it's great for studying the stars!"

[carbon_no]

Reid is by far the best presenter on this channel! Laid back personality and his speaking is filled with clarity!

[xbutterguyx]

"It's not just telescope size that matters. Technique does too."

[itachi]

Takeaway message from the video "It's not just the size that matters, technique is important too"

[NewMessage]

"No, baby... it only looks small because of the speckling."

[singletona]

'It was twelve stars in a trench coat'

Man and I thought having eight Kobold in a trnech coat was impressive.

[Socrates]

Did a SciShow channel just say that it's not the size of the telescope but how you use it? ;-)
This just goes to show that there is always more to learn.

[Yonkage-ikqb]

There's too much metal in the universe, how did this happen?
Eru and the Ainur: *singing soft opera*
Melkor: *playing a Dimmu Borgir album* ...what?

[sundarchip]

I know R136a1 held the title of most massive star for a long time but is it still considered the most massive star we know of? According to Wikipedia, Westerhout 49-2 and BAT 99-98 are more massive. Of course, all these stars lose a lot of mass over time so it is possible that R136a1 may have started out the most massive but as of now, it is the third most massive according to Wikipedia.

[Quwucuqin]

Thanks for the information and dedication.

[Obnoxers]

Someone estimate how big that trenchcoat would need to be. For science.

[l.mcmanus]

I thought it was determined a while ago that neutron star collisions produced a great deal of the heavier elements in the universe. Can’t remember the exact amounts, but I am surprised this detail was not mentioned here. It seems like an important side point.

[kennarajora]

Huh that's pretty interesting. This is in my syllabus and it states that the largest stars found are around 300 Solar Masses and that supernovae from type III stars are the origin of most of our heavy metals. I wonder what else I've been learning all these years that could be wrong.

[StYxXx]

Didn't we detect a possible pair instability supernova last year (or at least recently)?

[jbtownsend]

Knowing what we don’t know is better than not knowing what we don’t know.