Astronomers reveal the first detailed image of a dying star in another galaxy

A recent capture by the powerful European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (ESO’s VLTI) has enabled researchers to view the scene of a lifetime — a first-ever close-up image of a dying star outside of our galaxy.

This celestial spectacle details the dramatic death throes of a giant star, named WOH G64, that is situated in a galaxy beyond our Milky Way.

Dying star’s last breath

Keiichi Ohnaka, an astrophysicist at Universidad Andrés Bello in Chile, shared the exciting news.

Ohnaka and his team found an egg-shaped shell of dust and gas surrounding WOH G64 — a dying star about 160,000 light-years away from us.

“We are excited because this may be related to the drastic ejection of material from the dying star before a supernova explosion,” said Ohnaka.

Tale of the “behemoth star”

For decades, astronomers referred to WOH G64 as the “behemoth star.”

It is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small galaxy that orbits our Milky Way. With its humongous size, around 2,000 times that of our own sun, WOH G64 is a red supergiant star.

Viewing such stars that are hidden in far-off galaxies has been a challenge until now, but ESO’s VLTI’s sharpness has brought WOH G64 to our virtual doorstep.

Observing a dying star

Ohnaka and his team at Universidad Andrés Bello have long been intrigued by WOH G64. The researchers first used observations from ESO’s VLTI in 2005 and 2007 in Chile’s Atacama Desert.

Despite their persistent efforts, the actual image of the star remained elusive until the development of one of VLTI’s second-generation instruments known as GRAVITY.

Significant changes in WOH G64

GRAVITY allowed the team to examine WOH G64 with a fresh pair of eyes, leading them to a surprising discovery. Over the last decade, the star has dimmed considerably.

Study co-author Gerd Weigelt is an astronomy professor at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany.

“We have found that the star has been experiencing a significant change in the last 10 years, providing us with a rare opportunity to witness a star’s life in real-time,” said Weigelt.

Shedding layers of gas and dust

Red supergiants like WOH G64 are known to discard their outer layers of gas and dust in a process that spans thousands of years.

The team suspects that the dimming of the star and the unexpected egg-like shape of the dust cocoon surrounding it could be due to this shedding.

“This star is one of the most extreme of its kind, and any drastic change may bring it closer to an explosive end,” noted study co-author Jacco van Loon, director of Keele Observatory at Keele University, UK.

Looking closely

As the star continues to fade, capturing detailed images of it becomes increasingly challenging, even for the VLTI.

However, with planned upgrades like GRAVITY+, we can expect to get even better insights into the life of this far-off stellar giant.

“Similar follow-up observations with ESO instruments will be important for understanding what is going on in the star,” said Ohnaka, who is the lead author of the study.

ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer

The VLTI is an impressive piece of technology that combines light collected by ESO’s Very Large Telescope array to create detailed cosmic images.

The process is highly complex and needs instruments specifically dedicated to this task. In 2005 and 2007, Ohnaka’s team had access to the first generation of these instruments, MIDI.

However, it was the second-generation instrument, GRAVITY, that made the image of WOH G64 possible. But this is just the beginning. With imminent upgrades like GRAVITY+, we’re set to witness cosmic phenomena like never before.

Significance of capturing a dying star

The wondrous universe is always ready to surprise and inspire us. Today, it is the unique image of a dying star beyond our galaxy, courtesy of ESO’s VLTI and the relentless curiosity of scientists like Keiichi Ohnaka.

In the ever-evolving field of astronomy, this is just one of the countless wonders that await us. With each star we scrutinize, each galaxy we explore, we inch closer to understanding the cosmos and our place in it.

The study is published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

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