What is the most luminous star with a known planet?
The most luminous star known to hold a planet is mu2 Sco, pouring out about 6,300 times as much light as the Sun. Everything about mu2 Sco →
| # | Star | Luminosity | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| ★ 1 | mu2 Sco | 6,300× the Sun | distance unknown |
| 2 | HD 81817 | 1,800× the Sun | 878 ly |
| 3 | Mirach | 1,700× the Sun | 199 ly |
| 4 | BD+20 2457 | 1,500× the Sun | 5,022 ly |
| 5 | HD 158996 | 1,000× the Sun | 925 ly |
| 6 | HD 18438 | 930× the Sun | 731 ly |
| 7 | HD 4760 | 850× the Sun | 1,754 ly |
| 8 | bet Cnc | 790× the Sun | 290 ly |
| 9 | HD 220074 | 780× the Sun | 1,059 ly |
| 10 | HD 208527 | 730× the Sun | 1,018 ly |
| 11 | HD 96127 | 720× the Sun | 1,917 ly |
| 12 | BD+37 3172 | 690× the Sun | 1,482 ly |
| 13 | Kochab | 540× the Sun | 126 ly |
| 14 | HD 112300 | 500× the Sun | 202 ly |
| 15 | BD+03 2562 | 500× the Sun | 3,492 ly |
| 16 | HD 13189 | 430× the Sun | 1,624 ly |
| 17 | HD 36384 | 390× the Sun | 683 ly |
| 18 | HD 24064 | 350× the Sun | 979 ly |
| 19 | tau Gem | 330× the Sun | 367 ly |
| 20 | HD 19615 | 330× the Sun | 865 ly |
| 21 | Algieba | 320× the Sun | 130 ly |
| 22 | HD 240237 | 310× the Sun | 3,044 ly |
| 23 | HD 113996 | 290× the Sun | 379 ly |
| 24 | HD 112640 | 280× the Sun | 1,055 ly |
| 25 | 11 UMi | 270× the Sun | 409 ly |
Showing the top 25 of 4,430 that qualify.
Luminosity is the total light a star actually radiates, independent of how far away it is, and it is the honest measure of stellar power where apparent brightness is only a matter of perspective. It is catalogued as a logarithm, so a value of 3 means a thousand Suns; the figures here are converted and rounded to two significant figures, because a number derived from a log should never be printed to seven.
Very luminous stars are hard places to be a planet. They burn through their fuel in millions rather than billions of years, they flood their surroundings with ultraviolet light, and they end violently. Any planet found around one is necessarily young, and it will not have long.
What is the most luminous star with a known planet?
The most luminous star known to hold a planet is mu2 Sco, pouring out about 6,300 times as much light as the Sun.
What is the difference between luminosity and brightness?
Luminosity is how much light a star gives off; apparent brightness is how much of that light reaches us. A modest star nearby can look far brighter than an enormously luminous one across the galaxy, which is why the brightest star in our sky is not the most powerful one.
How luminous is the most luminous host star?
mu2 Sco radiates around 6,300 times the Sun's output, which is why it is visible at all from hundreds of light-years away.
Do luminous stars have short lives?
Very. A star burns its fuel at a rate that rises far faster than its mass, so a star ten times the Sun's mass lives roughly a thousandth as long: tens of millions of years against ten billion. Planets around such stars are necessarily young.
Keep exploring: all records · the most luminous stars we hold · how astronomers measure distance