NASA image release May 11, 2010 Hubble Catches Heavyweight Runaway Star Speeding from 30 Doradus Image: Hubble/WFPC2 and ESO/2.2-m Composite Image of 30 Dor Runaway Star A blue-hot star, 90 times more massive than our Sun, is hurtling across space fast enough to make a round trip from Earth to the Moon in merely two hours. Though the speed is not a record-breaker, it is unique to find a homeless star that has traveled so far from its nest. The only way the star could have been ejected from the star cluster where it was born is through a tussle with a rogue star that entered the binary system where the star lived, which ejected the star through a dynamical game of stellar pinball. This is strong circumstantial evidence for stars as massive as 150 times our Sun's mass living in the cluster. Only a very massive star would have the gravitational energy to eject something weighing 90 solar masses. The runaway star is on the outskirts of the 30 Doradus nebula, a raucous stellar breeding ground in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud. The finding bolsters evidence that the most massive stars in the local universe reside in 30 Doradus, making it a unique laboratory for studying heavyweight stars. 30 Doradus, also called the Tarantula Nebula, is roughly 170,000 light-years from Earth. To learn more about this image go to: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/runaway-star.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/runaway-star.html</a> Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Walsh (ST-ECF), and ESO <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe.

The Space Mirror Memorial is in view before the start of the Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Jan. 26, 2023. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.

Members of the Viera High School JROTC Honor Guard present colors during the Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Jan. 26, 2023. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.

Members of the Viera High School JROTC Honor Guard observe a minute of silence during the Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Jan. 26, 2023. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.

Kennedy Space Center workers and guests place flowers at the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida during the Day of Remembrance on Jan. 26, 2023. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.

Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro makes remarks during the Day of Remembrance on Jan. 26, 2023, at nearby Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.

Sheryl Chafee, Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF) Board of Directors chairperson, center, accompanied by NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana, and Kennedy Space Director Janet Petro, lay a wreath in front of the Space Mirror Memorial during the Day of Remembrance on Jan. 26, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the AMF, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.

A wreath has been placed in front of the Space Mirror Memorial during the Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Jan. 26, 2023. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.

Sheryl Chafee, second from right, Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF) Board of Directors chairperson, accompanied by NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana, and Kennedy Space Director Janet Petro, lay a wreath in front of the Space Mirror Memorial during the Day of Remembrance on Jan. 26, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. At far right is Thad Altman, AMF president and CEO. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the AMF, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.

Kennedy Space Center workers and guests placed flowers at the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida during the Day of Remembrance on Jan. 26, 2023. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.

Kennedy Space Center workers and guests observe a minute of silence during the Day of Remembrance at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Jan. 26, 2023. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.

Kennedy Space Center workers and guests attend the Day of Remembrance at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Jan. 26, 2023. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.

Sheryl Chafee, Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF) Board of Directors chairperson, at right, accompanied by NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana, and Kennedy Space Director Janet Petro, lay a wreath in front of the Space Mirror Memorial during the Day of Remembrance on Jan. 26, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the AMF, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.

NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana, makes remarks during the Day of Remembrance on Jan. 26, 2023, at nearby Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.

From left, Kennedy Space Center Deputy Director Kelvin Manning; Sheryl Chaffee, Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF) Board of Directors chairperson; and NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana, attend the Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Jan. 26, 2023. The event honored the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. This year’s ceremony was hosted by the AMF, which was founded after the shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 to honor the sacrifices of fallen astronauts each year.