Massive Star Has Vanished Without a Trace in a Distant Galaxy

Something is missing in the cosmos- a massive star that sits on a huge swath of space-time in a distant galaxy. How could such massive star just disappear like that?

To be more specific, this massive stellar object is located in Dwarf Galaxy, 73 million light years away (LYa) reported by researchers in a new study. Anything that can alert researchers was not detected, reported CNN.

Speculatively, if no sign of a supernova asis detected by earth observatories, then researchers are likely to agree that it was dimming on its way to stellar death. Some other explanation is that dust or nebulae is covering the dimming star. Or the most subdued and spectacular end is a collapse of spacetime and gravity, or leaving a black hole as its stellar shadow, mentioned WRCBtv.

According to Andrew Allan, study author and doctoral student at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, he stated this might be the first time a massive star died silently without much fanfare. There was no spectacular release of star stuff, or sudden burst of photons or radiation and it died without a wiper. As far as stellar deaths go this is underwhelming. It was published on Tuesday in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, confirmed in Knowledia.

In between 2001 to 2011, it was concluded the star is in the last part of its lifespan. Allan and colleagues were keen on researching the star and see how it will come to its end, especially massive stars. Recording the stages and physical properties helped map all the particulars in the stars condition.

Also read: Gravitational Waves From a Merger of a Black Hole and Unknown 'Mass Gap' Perplexes Scientists

Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope located in Chile last year while trying to spot the massive star was in vain because, it seems to have vanished.

Star fades and goes lights out

Spotting the star was not hard and in a sea of stellar bodies in the galaxy, it possessed a blue light with a luminosity of 2.5 million times more than the sun. In the dark cosmos, most very bright variable stars are very unpredictable subject to shifts in luminosity, but scientists can still see it, cited in Sci News.

In 2019, brightness of the star was faltering or missing.

Allan said that for such a massive star not going supernova, or without a cosmic bang that would flood the universe with photons and radiation with star stuff seeding the universe.

Using a variety of instrument to detect anything of the disappeared star would fail. When the Steller light went out nothing was there. Something was happening but scientist could not find anything.

In a statement, Jose Groh, study coauthor and director of astrophysics, said that the death of one massive star has been detected, the first instance wherein a massive star died silently in the cosmos. Astronomer now data on a star disappearing slowly and finally.

Volatility effects on stars

The scientists sifted through data from 2002 to 2009, given proof that the immense star had outbursts after 2011. These activities add instability and increases brightness, and how much star mass is given up throughout the outbursts.

A slim chance exists that the outburst has dimmed its light, with matter and dust it is unseen or it is a black hole. So, a massive has vanished but is it really gone?