- 10,502
- 11,574
Continued from here.
So, our border between stellar and multi-stellar LS is based on the biggest star we could find when we decided the value.
The problem is that the star in question, R136a1, got new measurements and it seems the 315 solar masses end that we use doesn't seem like the preferred estimation anymore. Wikipedia at least has changed its mass to a lower value. So we need to update the the border for on LS page as well.
Now, we could simply look at wikipedia's list of the most massive stars and pick the currently highest ranked one as the border again. However, to quote myself from when we originally decided the current value:
Wikipedia mentions theoretical mass limits of 200 or 300 solar masses. So my suggestion would be to maybe use one of those as the border between Stellar and Multi-Stellar. I'm open to other suggestions as well, though.
So, our border between stellar and multi-stellar LS is based on the biggest star we could find when we decided the value.
The problem is that the star in question, R136a1, got new measurements and it seems the 315 solar masses end that we use doesn't seem like the preferred estimation anymore. Wikipedia at least has changed its mass to a lower value. So we need to update the the border for on LS page as well.
Now, we could simply look at wikipedia's list of the most massive stars and pick the currently highest ranked one as the border again. However, to quote myself from when we originally decided the current value:
Hence, my suggestion is to look for a border that is less likely to be updated in the next few years.After thinking more about the idea of using the biggest known star/galaxy as border, I'm also not so sure about it anymore.
The idea is fine in the present, but science keeps progressing. What the mass of the largest known galaxy/star is can easily change by the scientists pointing their best telescopes at a new part of the nightsky and finding a bigger one. Or using a better tool/method to predict the mass.
As wikipedia notes, many of these mass values are already contested today.
While new facts, estimates and measurements are something that can influence anything in science, we are building our standard on particularly instable foundation here, in my opinion.
Wikipedia mentions theoretical mass limits of 200 or 300 solar masses. So my suggestion would be to maybe use one of those as the border between Stellar and Multi-Stellar. I'm open to other suggestions as well, though.