Tag Archive for 'Supergiant star'

An artist’s reconstruction of the red supergiant WOH G64. Image credit: ESO / L. Calçada.

Supergiant Star Makes Rare Leap to Hotter Phase, Astronomers Say

Mar 16, 2026 by News Staff

Long-term observations of WOH G64 — once considered the most extreme red supergiant star in its galaxy — reveal that the star has undergone...

The main image at left shows a combined Webb and Hubble view of the spiral galaxy NGC 1637, with the region of interest in the top right; the remaining three panels show a detailed view of a red supergiant star before and after it exploded; the star is not visible in the Hubble image before the SN 2025pht explosion, but appears in the Webb image; the July 2025 view from Hubble shows the glowing aftermath of the explosion. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / C. Kilpatrick, Northwestern / A. Suresh, Northwestern / J. DePasquale, STScI.

Webb Identifies Supernova Progenitor Star in NGC 1637

Feb 23, 2026 by News Staff

Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have for the first time identified the progenitor of a nearby supernova — a red supergiant...

Tomassini et al. characterized the physical and morphological properties of the binary system AFGL 4106, which is composed of two evolved massive stars. Image credit: ESO / Tomassini et al.

VLT Reveals Secrets of Old Stellar Couple

Feb 23, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

A stunning new image from the SPHERE (Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) reveals the...

Location and disappearance of M31-2014-DS1. Image credit: De et al., doi: 10.1126/science.adt4853.

Supergiant Star Collapsed into Stellar-Mass Black Hole in Andromeda Galaxy

Feb 13, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using archival data from NASA’s NEOWISE mission along with data from other space and ground-based observatories, astronomers identified the clearest...

This artist’s concept shows the red supergiant star Betelgeuse and an orbiting companion star. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Elizabeth Wheatley, STScI / Andrea Dupree, CfA.

Astronomers Detect Celestial ‘Wake’ from Betelgeuse’s Companion Star

Jan 12, 2026 by News Staff

New multi-year observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based telescopes at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory and Roque de...

This image shows the red supergiant star Stephenson 2 DFK 52 and its circumstellar environment. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / Siebert et al.

Astronomers Discover Exotic Red Supergiant Star

Aug 5, 2025 by Natali Anderson

Designated Stephenson 2 DFK 52, the newly-discovered red supergiant resides in the massive stellar cluster RSGC2. This image shows the red supergiant star...

This VST image shows Gum 80, a nebula located roughly 6,000 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens. Image credit: ESO / VPHAS+ Team.

VST Sees Impostor Supergiant Star in Gum 80

May 6, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile have captured a stunning new image of the nebula Gum 80. This VST image...

This image, taken by the GRAVITY instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer, shows the red supergiant WOH G64. Image credit: ESO / Ohnaka et al., doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202451820.

VLTI Captures Detailed Image of Red Supergiant in Large Magellanic Cloud

Nov 21, 2024 by News Staff

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) have captured a zoomed-in image of the dust-enshrouded red supergiant star WOH G64. This...

Mothra is best described as a binary system with two supergiant stars, a hot one with temperature T ≈ 14,000 K, and a cooler one with T ≈ 5,000 K. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / Jose M. Diego, IFCA / Jordan C.J. D’Silva, UWA / Anton M. Koekemoer, STScI / Jake Summers, ASU / Rogier Windhorst, ASU / Haojing Yan, University of Missouri.

Mothra: Astronomers Spot Monster Binary Star in Distant Universe

Nov 28, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Mothra is a system of two supergiant stars in one of the extremely magnified galaxies behind the lensing galaxy cluster MACS J0416.1-2403. Mothra is best...