A detailed image of a dying star outside our galaxy has been captured for the first time. This image differs from predictions based on previous observations, offering new insights into the life cycle of stars.
On Friday, a European Southern Observatory (ESO) research team published an image of WOH G64, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
In astronomy, detailed images provide more than just brightness and color data. They offer high-resolution information about a star’s surface, atmospheric structure, and shape.
For example, while the Sun appears as a simple circle from afar, detailed images reveal features like sunspots, granulation, and solar flares. However, current technology limits our ability to obtain detailed information about stars more distant than our Sun.
These detailed images are crucial for understanding a star’s structure, the distribution of surrounding materials, and its life cycle.
WOH G64, the star imaged in this study, is located 163,000 light-years away from Earth, outside the Milky Way galaxy. The star is approximately 1,540 times the size of the Sun. If it were located at the position of the Sun in our solar system, its outer edge would extend to Saturn’s orbit.
According to the findings, this star, classified as a red supergiant, is in the final stages before becoming a supernova. A supernova is a stage where a star nearing the end of its life explodes, releasing an immense amount of energy and material.
The bright WOH G64 is surrounded by an uneven elliptical ring of gas and dust ejected from the star. Although this star was discovered decades ago, its surrounding dust ring was not identified until 2005.
The research team reported that the star has changed, including dimming over the past decade. This provides scientists with a rare opportunity to observe the star’s death as it unfolds.
Capturing such close-up images requires high-performance space telescopes or ground-based telescope systems (interferometers) composed of multiple telescopes. Interferometers combine multiple telescopes into a single system, enabling more precise observations.
This study used an array of four 8-meter telescopes and four auxiliary telescopes for detailed imaging.
The research was conducted through international collaboration, including the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Keele University in the United Kingdom, and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, USA.