A 'monster' star that was over 2 million times brighter than the sun disappeared in 2019 (Representational image)
A 'monster' star that was over 2 million times brighter than the sun disappeared in 2019. A study published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society has included shocking information about the star. This luminous blue variable (LBV) was located in the constellation Aquarius.
According to the experts, the star disappeared because it collapsed in a black hole without undergoing a supernova first. Some scientists describe this as a never seen before act of 'interstellar suicide'.
“We may have detected one of the most massive stars of the local universe going gently into the night," said Jose Groh, an astronomer from Trinity College Dublin. He has also written a paper on the star.
“If true, this would be the first direct detection of such a monster star ending its life in this manner,” says Andrew Allan who is also from the same institution.
The star was located 75 million light-years away and was studied for 10 years, between 2001 and 2011. There are only a dozen such recorded instances of such stars.
The star and its mysterious disappearance has left scientists alarmed. It is unnatural for a star larger than our sun to end its life without a supernova.
