Famous objects

The best-known and most extreme objects in the universe: the black hole in our Milky Way, a quasar with billions of solar masses, the largest stars and our nearest neighbour. Each page shows real photos, figures and the position in the sky.

• Black hole · centre of the Milky WaySagittarius A*Sagittarius A* is the supermassive black hole at the centre of our Milky Way. It has about 4.3 million solar masses and lies roughly 26,700 …
• Quasar · black holeTON 618TON 618 is an extremely luminous quasar in the constellation Canes Venatici. Its light travelled for about 10.4 billion years – we see it …
• Red supergiant · variable starUY ScutiUY Scuti is a red supergiant in the constellation Scutum, about 9,500 light-years away. Its radius is estimated at roughly 900 to 1,200 …
• Red hypergiantVY Canis MajorisVY Canis Majoris is a red hypergiant in the constellation Canis Major, about 3,900 light-years away. Its radius is around 1,400 solar …
• Massive binary star systemEta CarinaeEta Carinae is a double star in the constellation Carina, about 7,500 light-years away. The primary has roughly 100 solar masses, a hotter …
• One of the most massive known starsR136a1R136a1 is a star in the cluster R136 inside the Tarantula Nebula of the Large Magellanic Cloud, about 163,000 light-years away. It is among …
• Black hole · X-ray sourceCygnus X-1Cygnus X-1 is a strong X-ray source in the constellation Cygnus and one of the first objects recognised as a black hole. It has about 21 …
• Red dwarf · nearest starProxima CentauriProxima Centauri is the nearest known star to the Sun, only 4.24 light-years away. It is a small, cool red dwarf with about 12 % of the …