In a historic first, astronomers have captured a detailed image of a star outside our galaxy, offering unprecedented insight into its final stages.

The star – which is called WOH G64, and is located 160 000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud – is a red supergiant on the brink of exploding as a supernova.

Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer, scientists captured the star surrounded by an egg-shaped nebula of gas and dust, material it is shedding as it nears its end.

The image reveals an unusual structure, with the material being ejected unevenly, possibly due to an unseen companion star.

WOH G64 is 2 000 times the size of the Sun and has been observed to dim over the past decade, possibly due to the expanding gas cloud. This marks the first time such a star’s death throes have been imaged so closely outside our galaxy, providing a rare glimpse into a stellar life cycle before a supernova.

The discovery offers a unique opportunity to study the processes leading to a star’s explosive conclusion, something not yet observable in our own galaxy.

Image Credit: Source