One of the largest stars in the universe, previously predicted to be on the brink of a violent supernova explosion, may not explode anytime soon after all, a new study suggests. The surprising discovery also suggests that this star’s “behemoth” is slowly being cannibalized by a smaller, hidden partner.
WOH G64, often referred to as a “giant star,” is a red supergiant star located in the Large Magellanic Cloud about 163,000 light-years from Earth. milky way. The width of the stellar giant is approximately 1,500 times solarmaking it one of the biggest stars discovered so far. It also shines up to 282,000 times brighter than our home star.
In recent years, WOH G64 has become significantly fainter, suggesting that the giant star is transitioning into a smaller, hotter, yellow supergiant star by shedding its outermost layers of gas. When this happens to a red supergiant star, it usually Signs that a star is about to go supernova. This seemed likely, given that the star is about 5 million years old, close to the lifespan of red supergiants, which burn through fuel much faster than stars like the Sun.
Further evidence of an impending explosion will be obtained in November 2024, researchers say I took some very detailed photos of the WOH G64 Using the Very Large Telescope in Chile – the first image of an extragalactic object of its kind – researchers detected an “egg-shaped cocoon” of gas and dust surrounding the star. Experts speculated that this was evidence that the star had shed its outer layers and became a yellow supergiant star.
But a new study published Jan. 7 in the journal Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Noticesresearchers used the South African Large Telescope (SALT) to observe WOH G64 again. As a result, they found “conclusive evidence” that casts doubt on the widely accepted supernova hypothesis.
The team’s data, collected by SALT’s powerful spectrometer between November 2024 and December 2025, revealed that it is typically titanium oxide. Found only in red supergiants — In the atmosphere of WOH G64.
“This suggests that WOH G64 is now a red supergiant and may not have ceased to be a red supergiant,” study co-lead author jacko van loonsaid astrophysicists at Keele University in the UK in a paper. statement. “We are essentially witnessing a ‘phoenix’ rising from the ashes,” he added.
But if WOH G64 hasn’t turned into a yellow supergiant, why does it behave so strangely?
The researchers suspect that the giant star is part of a binary system that includes smaller stars. In this case, its small blue-glowing partner is probably pulling WOH G64’s outer layer into the circumstellar disk.
“The red supergiant’s atmosphere has been stretched by the companion star’s approach, but it has not been completely stripped away,” Van Loon said. “It continues.”
This theory was also proposed when the star’s dusty cocoon was photographed in 2024, but it failed to gain traction.
All eyes are now on WOH G64 for further clues as to when this stellar behemoth will finally blow its top.
Van Loon, J. T., and Ohnaka, K. (2026). A phoenix rises from the ashes: WOH G64 is still a red supergiant star. Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Notices, 546(2). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stag012