November 22, 2024

The WOH G64 star seen from the VLTI (ESO Image/K. Ohnaka et al.)

An article published in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” reports the creation of a detailed image of the red supergiant star WOH G64 and its surroundings, the first ever obtained of a star outside the Milky Way. A team of researchers led by astrophysicist Keiichi Ohnaka of the Universidad AndrĂ©s Bello, Chile, used the GRAVITY instrument on ESO’s VLTI in Chile to obtain details of this star in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This study may provide important insights into a star that is going through the death throes that will end with its explosion as a supernova. A dust cocoon and a possible torus surrounding WOH G64 show signs of that death throes.