Eta Carinae is considered to be one of the largest single stars in the whole Milky Way galaxy. Its mass is estimated to be 100 to 150 times larger than our own sun and its luminosity is about four million times brighter, and astronomers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have just located its potential rival.

According to scientists, two massive stars labelled LH54-425 are currently orbiting so close to each other in a galaxy outside Milky Way. Now, these two have the potential to merge and create a "super sun." George Sonneborn of NASA commented:

The merger of two massive stars to make a single super star of over 80 suns could lead to an object like Eta Carinae, which might have looked like LH54-425 one million years ago. Finding stars this massive so early in their life is very rare. These results expand our understanding of the nature of very massive binaries.