What are luminous blue variables?
Q: What are luminous blue variables?
A: Luminous blue variables are massive evolved stars that show unpredictable and sometimes dramatic variations in their spectra and their brightness.
Q: What are LBVs also known as?
A: LBVs are also known as S Doradus variables.
Q: How rare are LBVs?
A: LBVs are extraordinarily rare, with just 20 listed in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars as SDor, and some of these are no longer considered to be LBVs.
Q: What type of stars are LBVs in their "quiescent" state?
A: In their "quiescent" state, LBVs are typically B-type stars, occasionally slightly hotter, with unusual emission lines.
Q: Where are LBVs found in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram?
A: LBVs are found in a region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram known as the S Doradus instability strip.
Q: How luminous are LBVs?
A: LBVs are some of the most luminous of all stars. The least luminous have a temperature around 10,000 K and a luminosity about 250,000 times the Sun, while the most luminous have a temperature around 25,000 K and a luminosity over a million times the Sun.
Q: What is the relationship of LBVs to supernovae?
A: The relationship of LBVs to supernovae is unclear.
