Trending Now - Massive Star Shows Signs of Imminent Supernova Explosion
WHO:
Gonzalo Muñoz-Sanchez, lead author of the research, affiliated with the National Observatory of Athens.
WOH G64, a massive star classified as a red supergiant.
WHAT:
WOH G64 is undergoing a transformation and is poised to explode in a supernova or collapse into a black hole.
The star has a mass of approximately 28 to 30 times that of the Sun.
It has a radius over 1,500 times that of the Sun.
WOH G64 is located about 165,000 light-years from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The star is around 5 to 10 million years old.
Observations indicate a change in color and temperature occurred in 2014, transitioning from red to yellow.
The luminosity of WOH G64 is about 300,000 times greater than that of the Sun.
The star's surface would extend between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn if placed in the solar system.
The star is part of a binary system, gravitationally bound to another star.
WHERE:
WOH G64 is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
WHEN:
The transformation of WOH G64 was observed in 2014.
The research was published in the journal Nature Astronomy in March 2026.
WHY:
The transformation may be due to interactions with a companion star or intrinsic stellar processes.
The rapid evolution of WOH G64 provides insight into the life history of massive stars.
HOW:
The star has burned through hydrogen at its core and is now burning helium, leading to its expansion and cooling.
The transition to a yellow hypergiant may have been spurred by the ejection of outer layers into space.
The observations were made over a span of more than three decades, providing new insights into the behavior of massive stars.
A significant discovery has been made regarding WOH G64, a massive red supergiant star located about 165,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is now undergoing a transformation that could lead to its explosion as a supernova or collapse into a black hole. Research led by Gonzalo Muñoz-Sanchez, published in the journal Nature Astronomy this month, reveals that WOH G64 has a mass 28 to 30 times that of the Sun and has been observed changing color and temperature since 2014, transitioning from red to yellow. This rapid evolution, likely influenced by interactions with a companion star, offers valuable insights into the life history of massive stars, as WOH G64's luminosity is about 300,000 times greater than that of our Sun, and its surface would extend between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn if placed in our solar system.