Invited paper for New Astronomy Reviews, special Local Group issue, 2013.
astro-ph/1305.5914

For a PDF version of the article, click here.

Abstract: The star-forming galaxies of the Local Group act as our laboratories for testing massive star evolutionary models. In this review, I briefly summarize what we believe we know about massive star evolution, and the connection between OB stars, Luminous Blue Variables, yellow supergiants, red supergiants, and Wolf-Rayet stars. The difficulties and recent successes in identifying these various types of massive stars in the neighboring galaxies of the Local Group will be discussed.

Key words: evolution stars: early-type stars: late-type supergiants

Table of Contents

• INTRODUCTION
• Motivation
• A Massive Star Primer
• Luminous Blue Variables
• THE MASSIVE STAR CONTENT OF THE LOCAL GROUP
• Counting the OB Stars: Harder than it Looks
• Luminous Blue Variables: Silent Quackers
• Yellow Supergiants: Looking at Stellar Evolution through a Magnifying Glass
• Red Supergiants: Big and Sometimes Too Cool
• The Wolf-Rayet Stars: Easy to Find Some, but Tough to Find the Rest
• SUMMARY AND FUTURE WORK
• REFERENCES