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Scientists find most massive star ever discovered (AP)

This image provided by the European Southern Observatory shows a new near-infrared image of the R136 cluster, obtained at high resolution with the MAD adaptive optics instrument at the ESO’s Very Large Telescope which provides unique details of its stellar content. At birth, the three brightest stars each weighed more than 150 times the mass of the Sun. The most massive star, known as R136a1 and located at the center of the image, has been found to have a current mass of 265 times that of the Sun. It also has the highest luminosity, close to ten million times greater than the Sun. AP Photo/ESO - P. Crowther/C.J. Evans) EDITORIAL USE ONLYAP - A huge ball of brightly burning gas drifting through a neighboring galaxy may be the heaviest star ever discovered — hundreds of times more massive than the sun, scientists said Wednesday after working out its weight for the first time.