Astronomers have had the capability to scrutinize the **sun** and a limited number of stars within the Milky Way with impressive detail, primarily due to improvements in contemporary telescopes. Nevertheless, obtaining a detailed perspective of a star beyond our galaxy has remained a challenging objective—until now.
Employing the **European Southern Observatory’s (ESO)** Very Large Telescope Interferometer, researchers have reached a historic milestone: the first detailed image of an extragalactic star. The star in focus, WOH G64, is situated an astonishing 160,000 **light-years** away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a compact galaxy located on the outskirts of the Milky Way. This colossal star is visible in the constellation Dorado.
Notably, the image depicts WOH G64 as it existed 160,000 years ago owing to the time required for light to traverse such an immense expanse. According to Jacco van Loon, an astrophysics specialist at Keele University in the UK and a co-author of the study, the star has probably already perished. “The signal of the explosion is on its way,” van Loon commented. WOH G64 is losing mass at an extraordinary pace, and its current phase as an extreme red supergiant—a phase that hefty stars don’t experience for long—indicates it might detonate as a supernova within the next few thousand years, or perhaps even within our lifetimes.
### A Behemoth on the Brink of Destruction
WOH G64 is identified as a **red supergiant**, a variety of star approaching the conclusion of its existence as it exhausts its hydrogen supply. Aging stars like this one inflate enormously, increasing 100 to 1,000 times their initial dimensions. However, WOH G64 stands out, acquiring the title “behemoth star” due to its extraordinary size—around 2,000 times greater than the sun.
Similar to other red giants, WOH G64 has been losing its outer layers of gas and dust. Over the last decade, the star has significantly dimmed, indicating that its end could be near. As dense material continues to gather in its core, the star will ultimately reach a critical juncture. Its core will collapse due to its own gravitational pull, triggering a cataclysmic supernova event that may outshine an entire galaxy.
### A Dusty Cocoon and Unanswered Questions
To the research group’s astonishment, WOH G64 is surrounded by a strange, egg-shaped dust cocoon. This peculiar formation could be a result of the star’s shedding process, though another possibility involves the influence of an unseen companion star. The results, published in the journal *Astronomy & Astrophysics*, illuminate the intense processes that transpire during the concluding phases of a massive star’s existence.
“We are thrilled because this might be associated with the significant ejection of material from the dying star before a supernova explosion,” stated Keiichi Ohnaka, the lead author of the study from Universidad Andrés Bello in Chile.
### Capturing the Image and Looking Ahead
To obtain this landmark image, the team utilized a sophisticated instrument on the Very Large Telescope known as GRAVITY, which merges the light from four telescopes to achieve exceptional accuracy. However, with WOH G64 continuing to fade, acquiring future images will become progressively more challenging. Thankfully, a forthcoming upgrade to the GRAVITY instrument is set to improve its sensitivity, allowing researchers to observe the star as it nears its dramatic conclusion.
This accomplishment signifies a major advancement in our comprehension of stars beyond the Milky Way, providing a rare insight into the life cycle of a massive star on the verge of annihilation.