Wray 17-96
Encyclopedia
Wray 17-96 is a very luminous star in the Scorpius
Scorpius
Scorpius, sometimes known as Scorpio, is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for scorpion, and its symbol is . It lies between Libra to the west and Sagittarius to the east...

 constellation, about 15000 ly away. Likely a luminous blue variable
Luminous blue variable
Luminous blue variables, also known as S Doradus variables, are very bright, blue, hypergiant variable stars named after S Doradus, the brightest star of the Large Magellanic Cloud. They exhibit long, slow changes in brightness, punctuated by occasional outbursts in brightness during substantial...

 (LBV), it has an absolute bolometric magnitude of −10.9 (1.8 million solar units), making it one of the most luminous stars known. Wray 17-96 is also notable for its gas hull, once thought to be a planetary nebula
Planetary nebula
A planetary nebula is an emission nebula consisting of an expanding glowing shell of ionized gas ejected during the asymptotic giant branch phase of certain types of stars late in their life...

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