Godzilla is a

variable star A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are classified as ...

in the

Sunburst galaxy The Sunburst galaxy is a strongly magnified galaxy at redshift z=2.38 (10.9 billion light years) behind the galaxy cluster PSZ1 G311.65-18.48. The cluster acts as a power magnifier thanks to the gravitational lensing effect. The galaxy cluster di ...

redshift In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and simultaneous increase in f ...

z = 2.38 (or 10.9 billion light years from Earth), observed through the

gravitational lens A gravitational lens is a distribution of matter (such as a cluster of galaxies) between a distant light source and an observer that is capable of bending the light from the source as the light travels toward the observer. This effect is known ...

PSZ1 G311.65-18.48. It was originally identified as a possible transient event in images taken with the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versa ...

(HST). As of October 2022, it is the most luminous star that can be currently observed. This is possible thanks to the fact that the star is believed to be undergoing an episode of temporary increased luminosity that has lasted at least seven years, combined with an estimated magnification of at least a factor of 2000. Some spectral features in Godzilla resemble those of other variable stars in the

Milky Way Galaxy The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...

such as

Eta Carinae Eta Carinae (η Carinae, abbreviated to η Car), formerly known as Eta Argus, is a stellar system containing at least two stars with a combined luminosity greater than five million times that of the Sun, located around distant in t ...

suggesting that Godzilla could be close to the end of its life. Godzilla is believed to be going through an episode similar to the Great Eruption of

in the 19th century, during which the star was likely among the brightest in the universe at about . The extreme magnification of Godzilla is partially due to a nearby substructure, probably a dwarf galaxy, not seen in the HST images, that is also close to the critical curve of the cluster. This unobserved substructure is believed to be dominated by

dark matter Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe. Dark matter is called "dark" because it does not appear to interact with the electromagnetic field, which means it does not ab ...

Notes

References

Extragalactic stars Gravitational lensing Hubble Space Telescope {{Authority control

See also

Notes

References