Answer:
High mass represents short life. The existence of such large stars raises questions about how they formed and details about the aging process. The fact that they exist in such large numbers in a small space of the galaxy, astronomers say their cloud must be rich in star-forming ingredients. In particular, they are rich in hydrogen.
Explanation:
- Although these stars are the most massive in a nearby galaxy (there are only some of that mass in our galaxy), their mass also means that they live shorter lives than smaller massive stars.
- The reason is simple: to retain their lavish mass, these stars need to consume an incredible amount of star fuel at their cores. Since each star is born with a certain amount of mass, it means that they pass through the fuel fairly quickly.
- For example, the sun will exhaust its hydrogen fuel about 10 billion years after birth (about five billion years later). A very low-mass star would pass through its fuel much more slowly and could live billions of years after the sun disappears.
- A very large mass, such as those found in R136, goes through fuel for tens of millions of years. It's an incredibly short time. They've also formed details about the aging process. The fact that they exist in such large numbers in a small space of the galaxy makes astronomers say that their cloud must be rich in star-forming ingredients. In particular, they are rich in hydrogen.
