luminous blue variable

A luminous blue variable (LBV or S Doradus variable after an example in the Large Magellanic Cloud) is a classification of variable star that is extremely bright and extremely rare. They are the most luminous stars known, with luminosities hundreds of thousands times that of the Sun and some of them experience outbursts (LBV outbursts) bright enough to be mistaken for supernovae. They are also among the most massive stars, up to 100 solar masses. In addition to those found in the Milky Way, examples have been identified in other galaxies including the Magellanic Clouds, Andromeda, and Triangulum Galaxy, and they have been used to estimate distances to the latter two galaxies. Explanation of their structure and evolution continues to be a topic of research.