Eight telescopes at the European Southern Observatory collaborated to take a groundbreaking image of a star beyond the Milky Way galaxy.
The photo above is historic. For the first time, a team of astronomers has captured a detailed image of a star in a galaxy other than the Milky Way. This achievement was made possible by the same technology that took the first image of a black hole in 2019 and the first picture of a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy in 2022.
The red supergiant star WOH G64. Using the powerful Very Large Telescope Interferometer at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), an international team has taken a close-up image of the WOH G64 star, which is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, 163,000 light-years away.
With dimensions estimated to be 2,000 times those of the Sun, WOH G64 is one of the most massive stars known to astronomers. It’s currently in the final stages of its life cycle before it ultimately explodes as a supernova.
Historical significance. Conducted by the ESO and Chile’s Andrés Bello National University, the research marks a milestone in the observation of extragalactic stars. The findings were recently published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.
While astronomers have studied hundreds of nearby stars using advanced techniques, capturing detailed images of a distant star beyond the Milky Way galaxy is unprecedented.
This breakthrough research opens a new avenue for astronomers and astrophysicists to explore stellar phenomena in other galaxies, which could provide new insights into the evolution and death of stars.
What did astronomers observe? The image reveals that WOH G64 is surrounded by a cocoon of gas and dust, which gives it an elongated, egg-like shape. The ejection of material appears to be linked to the later stages of the star’s life. Meanwhile, its shape may be influenced by gravitational interactions with a currently undetected companion star.
When they compared recent data with earlier observations, researchers discovered that WOH G64 has become significantly fainter over the past decade. This change seems to be associated with the formation of hot dust around the star, which obstructs some of its light.
How did they capture the image? The image was taken using the Very Large Telescope’s GRAVITY instrument, which combines the light from four 26-foot-diameter telescopes to operate as a “virtual telescope” with a resolution equivalent to that of a 430-foot-diameter observatory.
As GRAVITY continues to produce impressive images like this one, the future looks even more promising with the upcoming GRAVITY+ upgrade. This enhancement will enable researchers to study fainter and more distant stars in greater detail. The new instrument will be crucial to keep observing WOH G64, which is rapidly losing brightness.
Image | European Southern Observatory
See all comments on https://www.xatakaon.com
SEE 0 Comment