A massive star in a distant galaxy has baffled astronomers by disappearing without a trace.
Scientists have been observing the star for decades as it was in the later stages of its lifespan, meaning that a large supernova explosion could occur.
It was observed to shine between 2001 and 2011, but the 2019 data revealed its absence.
Confused by how such a large star could mysteriously disappear, the scientists analyzed the 2016 data and found that the star was also missing at the time.
Somehow, it seems to have disappeared sometime after 2011.
Now, scientists are wondering if the star skipped the supernova stage, which was previously considered a necessary step at the end of a star’s life.
Instead, they think it might have collapsed into a black hole.
Astrophysicist Andrew Allan said: “If true, his would be the first direct detection of a monstrous star that ends its life this way.”
Scientists used to detect the large star in the Kinman dwarf galaxy, 75 million light-years away in the constellation Aquarius.
We currently don’t have the technology to observe individual stars at this distance, but scientists used to be able to collect light signatures for the luminous blue variable star in question.
These stars are known supergiants, or sometimes even hypergiants nearing the end of their useful lives.
This makes them extremely unstable and bright, with constant changes in expected brightness.
Early observations suggested that the star was 2.5 to 3.5 million times brighter than the Sun.
This is what makes the star suddenly disappear without even a trace of a very strange supernova.
The researchers have presented two possible explanations for the mysterious disappearance.
The first is that the star has dimmed and is now enveloped in a huge cloud of dust made from its own eruptions.
In the second scenario, the star went through its last death shoots and collapsed into a black hole.
We cannot rule out that the massive star has undergone an undetected supernova, but it is highly unusual that it will not leave a subsequent glow for years to come.
Astrophysicist Jose Groh said: “We may have detected one of the most massive stars in the local Universe by stepping gently into the night.”
The research was led by PhD student Andrew Allan of Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
This study has been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
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