Scientists Capture First Close-Up Images of Dying Star
A groundbreaking achievement in astronomy has been made as scientists successfully captured the first-ever close-up images of a dying star, known as WOH-G64, located about 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This red giant star is in its final stages before exploding as a supernova, providing a rare glimpse into stellar evolution.
Utilizing the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, researchers obtained a detailed image of the star surrounded by a glowing nebula of gas and dust. Although the image is somewhat blurry, it reveals irregularly ejected materials, indicating the star's dramatic transformation. Notably, a faint oval ring outside the nebula suggests gravitational interactions with a possible companion star, yet to be detected.
Insights into Stellar Evolution and Cosmic Conditions
The study, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, indicates that WOH-G64 was born with a mass between 25 and 40 times that of the Sun. Due to its size, it has a relatively short lifespan of only 10 to 20 million years. Currently, the star is expanding to a size that could engulf the orbits of planets such as Saturn, Earth, Mars, and Jupiter if it were positioned where the Sun is.
The Large Magellanic Cloud offers a unique environment for studying stellar evolution, characterized by lower metallicity and less cosmic dust compared to the Milky Way. These conditions resemble those of the early universe, making it an ideal natural laboratory for astronomers. Over the past decade, the brightness of WOH-G64 has noticeably decreased, attributed to the expanding envelope of gas and dust it is shedding. The impending supernova will distribute heavy elements like carbon and iron across the galaxy, crucial for the formation of planets and star clusters in the future.
