NASA's James Webb revealed a star once thought to be the most massive is actually two

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captured a sparkling scene of star birth in Pismis 24, a star cluster at the heart of the Lobster Nebula, located along the dusty lanes near the center of the Milky Way in the constellation Scorpius, about 5,500 light-years away. What looked like a craggy mountain top was actually a dust cloud being eaten away by radiation from nearby infant stars. At its center sat Pismis 24-1, once believed to be the single most massive star ever known — later found to be at least two stars, weighing 74 and 66 solar masses. The tallest visible spire spanned about 5.4 light-years, wide enough to fit more than 200 solar systems out to Neptune's orbit across just its tip. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI); Video: Leah Hustak, Christian Nieves (STScI)