A star that is more than 160,000 light-years away from Earth is now the focus of the first picture ever taken of a star in another galaxy.
It’s known as WOH G64 and is a giant red star in a small galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud that orbits our Milky Way. It’s so huge that it’s nicknamed “The Monster” or “The Behemoth,” with a size almost 2,000 times bigger than the Sun.
Scientists used a powerful telescope to capture a close-up of this large star. They found a strange bubble shape around WOH G64, which may be linked to the star losing material before it explodes.
The researchers noticed that the star has been getting dimmer over the past decade, possibly due to the material it’s losing blocking its light. This discovery is a rare chance to observe a star’s changes in real-time.
This new information could help us understand more about how massive stars like WOH G64 reach the end of their lives.
Vocabulary List:
- Galaxy /ˈɡæl.ə.ksi/ (noun): A vast system of stars gas and dust held together by gravity.
- Huge /hjuːdʒ/ (adjective): Extremely large in size quantity or degree.
- Material /məˈtɪr.i.əl/ (noun): The substance or matter from which something is made.
- Explodes /ɪkˈsploʊdz/ (verb): To burst or break apart suddenly and violently.
- Dimmer /ˈdɪm.ər/ (adjective): Less bright or clear.
- Discoveries /dɪˈskʌv.ər.iz/ (noun): The acts of finding or learning something for the first time.
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