LBV 1806-20
Temperature: 18 - 36,000 K
Age: < 2 × 106 years
LBV 1806-20 is a hypergiant or possible binary star located towards the center of the galaxy. It has a total system mass of 130–150 times a standard main sequence body, and an estimated variable luminosity of up to 38 million times the norm making it comparably luminous to Eta Carinae or the Pistol Star, contenders for the most luminous known star (all of which are luminous blue variables).
There has been some dispute as to whether LBV 1806-20 is a single star or a cluster. Its luminosity has been estimated through very high-resolution speckle imaging, the results of which suggest that LBV 1806-20 may be a single star. However, more recent high-resolution spectroscopy reveals that there may be a companion.
Location
LBV 1806-20 lies at the core of radio nebula G10.0-0.3 and is a component of cluster 1806-20, itself a component of W31, one of the largest H II regions in the Milky Way. Cluster 1806-20 is made up of some highly unusual stars, including at least two carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet stars (WC9d and WCL), two blue hypergiants, and a magnetar (SGR 1806-20).
