Astronomers observe massive star’s rare transformation, hinting at imminent supernova

An illustration of WOH G64’s binary system surrounded by a dense ring of dust. Pic Courtesy/Daniel Cea Martinez

Astronomers have witnessed one of our universe's biggest stars transforming into a rare stellar body, and the dramatic metamorphosis may be the prequel to a powerful supernova explosion that sees this star birth a black hole.

WOH G64 (also known as IRAS 04553-6825) - is located in a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way known as the Large Magellanic Cloud, around 163,000 light-years away. The star is around 1540 times the size of the sun, with almost 30 times the mass of our star and 282,000 times its brightness.

Discovered in the 1970s, WOH G64 has always appeared to be a red supergiant star surrounded by a ring, or torus, of dense dust. However, in 2014, the appearance of this supergiant began to change.

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