Much more megastars than imagined

amsterdam - After an eight-year investigation, astronomers conclude that there are many more heavy stars than previously assumed. The astronomers, including two scientists from the University of Amsterdam (UvA), publish their results in the journal Science.

The researchers have examined stars in a nearby galaxy, the so-called Large Magellanic Cloud about 180,000 light years away. This research shows that there are 30 per cent more heavy stars than was assumed on the basis of the Salpeter Act (1955).

Heavy stars (which are a few hundred times heavier than the sun), in contrast to the lighter versions, are short and end after a supernova explosion as a neutron star or black hole.

According to one of the researchers Alex de Koter of the UvA 'studying stars tells us something about the nature of the universe. 'Astronomers think that heavy stars are the first objects created after the Big Bang. Possibly they have played a role in the formation of galaxies such as our galaxy.