The story of the star Sanduleak -69o 202

t = -11 x 106 yr

The story begins with the birth of this star in the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satelite galaxy of the Milky Way, 170 kly from us. (kly = 103 ly = 1000 light years ~ 300 pc).

Here is a photograph of the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is visible in the southern hemisphere.

Here is what our star might have looked like in its cocoon of dark gas and dust while it was forming.

Next Stage

Davison E. Soper, Institute of Theoretical Science, University of Oregon, Eugene OR 97403 USA soper@bovine.uoregon.edu