Astronomers have captured the most detailed image yet of a dying star located 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy containing over 30 billion stars. The star, WOH G64, is a red supergiant that has been shedding massive amounts of gas and dust as it approaches its final stages.
The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer captured the image, revealing a thin elliptical ring around the star. This “cocoon” is thought to be formed from the expelled material, offering insights into the end stages of stellar life and the dynamics of dying stars.
“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Keiichi Ohnaka, lead author of the research. “This star is expelling material at an incredible rate, which helps us understand how dying stars behave.”
The team chose WOH G64 for its proximity and extreme nature, making it ideal for studying a dying star’s behavior. The star is expected to go supernova soon, and this image provides valuable information about its mass, energy output, and surrounding structure.
Astronomer Jacco van Loon noted that the discovery of the cocoon around WOH G64 sheds light on the dynamics of dying stars. “This star is one of the most extreme of its kind,” he said. “Any drastic change may bring it closer to an explosive end.”
The team plans to take similar images at longer wavelengths, which could reveal more about the material surrounding the star. For now, this image offers a glimpse into the life and death of a massive star.
Source: https://gizmodo.com/astronomers-take-remarkably-zoomed-in-image-of-red-supergiant-star-2000527117