SafekipediaList of hottest stars
Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience
This is a list of the hottest stars ever discovered, not counting special types called degenerate stars. These stars shine with incredible heat, and we know about those that have temperatures higher than 60,000 Kelvin. Studying these stars helps us understand how stars live, evolve, and die. Their extreme heat makes them shine very brightly and they play an important role in the universe.
List
The list below shows some of the hottest stars known in space, with temperatures above 60,000 Kelvin. These stars shine brightly due to their extreme heat.
The stars are arranged from the hottest to the coolest on this list, giving us a glimpse of the most intense stars in the universe.
| Star name | Effective Temperature (K) | Mass (M☉) | Luminosity (L☉) | Spectral type | Distance (light-years) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR 102 | 200,000 | 16.1 | 380,000 | WO2 | 8,610 | |
| WR 142 | 200,000 | 28.6 | 912,000 | WO2 | 5,400 | Very young oxygen type WO star on the Berkeley 87 star cluster. |
| LMC195-1 | 200,000 | 257,000 | WO2 | ~160,000 | ||
| BAT99-123 | 170,000 | 7.7 | 158,000 | WO3 | ~160,000 | |
| WR 93b | 160,000 | 8.1 | 110,000 | WO3 | 7,470 | A WO star with stellar wind speeds of 5750 km/s making it the record holder. |
| [HC2007] 31 | 160,000? | WO3 | 12,886,000 | |||
| BAT99-53 A | 158,000 | 13 | 224,000 | WC4 | ~160,000 | |
| BAT99-7 | 158,000 | 25 | 692,000 | WN4b | ~160,000 | |
| IC 1613 DR1 | 150,000 | 20 | 480,000 | WO3 | ~2,380,000 | A Wolf-Rayet star located in the dwarf galaxy IC 1613. It is surrounded by a nebula. |
| LH41-1042 | 150,000 | 8.4 | 182,000 | WO4 | ~160,000 | |
| BAT99-2 | 141,000 | 13 | 234,000 | WN2 | ~160,000 | |
| BAT99-94 | 141,000 | 24 | 631,000 | WN3 | ~160,000 | |
| WR 2 | 141,000 | 16 | 282,000 | WN2 | 7,830 | |
| AB8 | 141,000 | 19 | 1,413,000 | WO4 | ~197,000 | |
| BA 1-458 | 140,000 | 28.1 | 776,000 | WO4 | 2,500,000 | |
| WR 9 (WR) | 139,700 | 9 | 501,000 | WC4 | 14,900 | |
| WR 30a (WR) | 129,500 | 7.5-9.7 | 195,000 | WO4 | 25,340 | |
| WR 38 | 126,000 | 10.4 | 724,000 | WC4 | 19,700 | |
| WR 142a | 125,000 | 7.9 | 110,000 | WC8 | 5,900 | |
| BAT99-128 | 112,000 | 14 | 275,000 | WN3 | ~160,000 | |
| WR 1 | 112,000 | 27 | 759,000 | WN4-s | 10,300 | |
| WR 18 | 112,000 | 38 | 1,288,000 | WN4-s | 12,500 | |
| WR 46 | 112,000 | 14 | 263,000 | WN3pw | 13,000 | |
| WR 7 | 112,000 | 13 | 214,000 | WN4-s | 14,000 | |
| WR 144 | 112,000 | 9.9 | 159,000 | WC4 | 5,710 | |
| WR 52 | 112,000 | 8.5 | 117,000 | WC4 | 5,710 | |
| AB7 | 105,000 | 23 | 1,259,000 | WN4 | ~197,000 | |
| BAT99-24 | 100,000 | 17 | 347,000 | WN4b | ~160,000 | |
| WR 37 | 100,000 | 34 | 1,122,000 | WN4-s | 21,900 | |
| NGC 6822-WR 12 | 100,000 | 36 | 1,288,000 | WN4 | ~1,631,000 | |
| Gamma Velorum (WR) | 90,000 | 9 | 204,000 | WC8 | 1,100 | A quadruple star system |
| BAT99-1 | 89,100 | 12 | 200,000 | WN3b | ~160,000 | |
| EZ CMa | 89,100 | 23 | 617,000 | WN4-s | 5,900 | A Wolf-Rayet star that may be an eccentric binary star system. |
| WR 36 | 89,100 | 12 | 200,000 | WN5-s | 17,700 | |
| WR 111 | 89,100 | 13 | 245,000 | WC5 | 5,320 | |
| WR 150 | 89,100 | 24.8 | 724,000 | WC5 | 28,500 | |
| BAT99-3 | 79,400 | 16 | 324,000 | WN4b | ~160,000 | |
| WR 19 A | 79,400 | 400,000 | WC5d | 14,000 | ||
| WR 44 | 79,400 | 18 | 417,000 | WN4-w | 19,800 | |
| WR 58 | 79,400 | 8.4 | 89,100 | WN4/WCE | 19,700 | |
| BAT99-37 | 79,400 | 19 | 447,000 | WN3o | 160,000 | |
| WR 45 | 79,400 | 14.1 | 282,000 | WC6 | 13,900 | |
| BAT99-26 | 70,800 | 18 | 417,000 | WN4b | ~160,000 | |
| BAT99-35 | 70,800 | 24 | 398,000 | WN3(h) | ~160,000 | |
| BAT99-86 | 70,800 | 12 | 427,000 | WN3(h) | ~160,000 | |
| WR 136 | 70,800 | 15 | 260,000 | WN6(h)-s | 6,290 | Fast stellar winds created the Crescent nebula |
| WR 75 | 63,100 | 18 | 389,000 | WN6-s | 10,800 | |
| WR 134 | 63,100 | 19 | 400,000 | WN6-s | 6,000 | A Wolf-Rayet star that is very bright |
| WR 60 | 63,100 | 23 | 631,000 | WC8 | 11,500 | |
| WR 149 | 63,100 | 14 | 269,000 | WN5-s | 15,900 | |
Images
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on List of hottest stars, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.