WOH G64 was discovered in the 1970s by Bengt Westerlund, Olander and Hedin. Like NML Cygni, the "WOH" in the star's name comes from the names of its three discoverers, but in this case refers to a whole catalogue of giant and supergiant stars in the LMC. Westerlund also discovered another notable red supergiant star, Westerlund 1-26, found in the massive super star clusterWesterlund 1 in the constellation Ara. In 1986, infrared observations showed that it was a highly luminous supergiant surrounded by gas and dust which absorbed around three quarters of its radiation. In 2007, observers using the Very Large Telescope showed that WOH G64 is surrounded by a torus-shaped cloud. WOH G64 was also discovered to be a prominent source of OH,, and masers emission, which is typical of an OH/IR supergiant star. It shows an unusual spectrum of nebular emission; the hot gas is rich in nitrogen and has a radial velocity considerably more positive than that of the star.
Distance
The distance of WOH G64 is assumed to be around away from Earth, since it appears to be in the LMC. The Gaia Data Release 2 parallax for WOH G64 is – and the negative parallax does not provide a reliable distance.
Variability
WOH G64 varies regularly in brightness by over a magnitude at visual wavelengths with a primary period of around 800 days. The star suffers from over six magnitudes of extinction at visual wavelengths, and the variation at infra-red wavelengths is much smaller. It has been described as a carbon-rich Mira or long-period variable, which would necessarily be an asymptotic-giant-branch star rather than a supergiant. Brightness variability has been confirmed by other researchers in some spectral bands, but it is unclear what the actual variable type is. No significant spectral variation has been found.
Physical properties
WOH G64 is classified as an extremely luminous M class supergiant and is likely to be the largest star and the most luminous and coolest red supergiant in the LMC. The combination of the star's temperature and luminosity places it toward the upper right corner of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram. The star's evolved state means that it can no longer hold on to its atmosphere due to low density, high radiation pressure, and the relatively opaque products of thermonuclear fusion. It has an average mass loss rate of 3.1 to per year, among the highest known and unusually high even for a red supergiant. The parameters of WOH G64 are uncertain. The star was originally calculated to be around between based on spectroscopic measurements assuming spherical shells, suggesting initial masses at least and consequently larger values for the radius between. 2007 measurements using the Very Large Telescope gave the star a bolometric luminosity of, suggesting an initial mass of, and a radius around based on the assumption of an effective temperature of and radiative transfer modelling of the surrounding torus. In 2009, Levesque calculated an effective temperature of by spectral fitting of the optical and near-UV SED. Adopting the Ohnaka luminosity with this new temperature gives a radius of but with a margin of error of 5% or. Ignoring the effect of the dusty torus in redirecting infrared radiation, estimates of based on a luminosity of and an effective temperature of 3,372 - have also been derived. Those physical parameters are consistent with the largest galactic red supergiants and hypergiants found elsewhere such as Westerlund 1-26, VY Canis Majoris and NML Cygni and with theoretical models of the coolest, most luminous and largest possible cool supergiants. A 2018 paper gives a luminosity of and an effective temperature of, based on optical and infrared photometry and assuming spherically-symmetric radiation from the surrounding dust. This suggests a radius of about.
Possible companion
WOH G64 has a possible late O-type dwarf companion of a bolometric magnitude of −7.5 or a luminosity of, which would make WOH G64 a binary star although there has been no confirmation of this observation and the intervening dust clouds makes the study of the star very difficult.
