Tarantula Nebula: An extremely large star-forming region
The Tarantula Nebula, also known as 30 Doradus, is a huge star-forming region in the constellation of Doradus. It is situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. It is the most active and the brightest star-forming region in the entire Local Group of galaxies. This huge nebula spans over 1800 light-years in diameter, making it one of the largest nebulae ever discovered.
The R136 Star Cluster
At the heart of the Tarantula Nebula, you can find a huge star cluster known as R136. This star cluster is around 2–3 million years old. The energy and light from this star cluster light up almost the entire nebula. R136 is known to contain the most massive stars in the Universe. These massive stars are more than 100 times the mass of the Sun. The most massive star ever discovered, known as R136a1, also lies in R136. R136a1 is known to have an estimated mass of about 350 times the mass of the Sun and an estimated luminosity of around 9 million Suns!
Hodge 301
Hodge 301 is another star cluster in the Tarantula Nebula. It is about 20 million years old which is around 10 times as old as R136. Because of its age, several stars are known to have exploded in a supernova explosion. Many other massive stars are known to explode in supernova explosions within a few million years.
