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Astronomers have for the first time imaged the last moments in the life of a red supergiant star.
It was spotted just 130 days before exploding using two telescopes in Hawaii, allowing a team of researchers to survey it before it detonated in an enormous supernova.
"This is a breakthrough in our understanding of what massive stars do moments before they die," said Dr Wynn Jacobson-Galán, lead author of the study.
"Direct detection of pre-supernova activity in a red supergiant star has never been observed before in an ordinary Type II supernova.
"For the first time, we watched a red supergiant star explode!" added Dr Jacobson-Galán.
The discovery, which took place in the summer of 2020 before the supergiant exploded that autumn, has been detailed in a study published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Using the Keck Observatory's Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (LRIS) the team found dense circumstellar material surrounding the star at the time it exploded.
The researchers believe this is the same gas that had initially alerted them to the red supergiant with a blast of bright radiation in the summer.
news.sky.com
It was spotted just 130 days before exploding using two telescopes in Hawaii, allowing a team of researchers to survey it before it detonated in an enormous supernova.
"This is a breakthrough in our understanding of what massive stars do moments before they die," said Dr Wynn Jacobson-Galán, lead author of the study.
"Direct detection of pre-supernova activity in a red supergiant star has never been observed before in an ordinary Type II supernova.
"For the first time, we watched a red supergiant star explode!" added Dr Jacobson-Galán.
The discovery, which took place in the summer of 2020 before the supergiant exploded that autumn, has been detailed in a study published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Using the Keck Observatory's Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (LRIS) the team found dense circumstellar material surrounding the star at the time it exploded.
The researchers believe this is the same gas that had initially alerted them to the red supergiant with a blast of bright radiation in the summer.
Astronomers spot dying star just before it explodes and record supernova
The discovery reveals new details about how red supergiants evolve just before going supernova, potentially allowing astronomers to detect them in the future.
news.sky.com
