Scientists think that this star could be the next supernova

A red supergiant star blew a huge bubble of gas and dust, confusing astronomers.

The structure, as massive as the sun and larger as our solar system, has formed in a sudden rash thousands of years ago. Why did the star not explode as a supernova remains a mystery.

Discovery of a large stellar bubble

Astronomers at Chalmers University of Technology In Sweden, has identified a gigantic bubble expanding gas and dust surrounding a red supergiante star. It is the largest structure of this type never observed in the Milky Way. Containing as much mass as the sun, the bubble was expelled in a violent stellar eruption about 4000 years ago. Scientists are always perplexed about how the star has managed to survive such a dramatic event.

The results, published in the journal Astronomy and astrophysicscome from a team led by Mark Siebert de Chalmers. Using the Alma RadioTelescope in Chile, the researchers studied the red supergiant known under the name of DFK 52, a star similar in many ways to the famous Betelgeuse.

A giant and expanding cloud of gas and dust

“We had a big surprise when we saw what Alma showed us. The star is more or less a betelgean twin, but he is surrounded by a large bubble of disorder material, “explains Mark Siebert at Chalmers.

This immense cloud, made of gas and dust, contains as much mass as the sun and extends 1.4 light years from the star. To put this in perspective, the bubble is thousands of times wider than our whole solar system.

If DFK 52 was as close to the earth as Betelgeuse, the bubble seems to cover about a third of the width of the full moon in the night sky.

By following the movement of molecules in gas with Alma radio observations, astronomers have determined that the bubble is still developing. They believe that he was born when the star violently ejected part of his outer layers during an explosive explosion a few thousand years ago.

“The bubble is made of equipment that was part of the star. He must have been ejected into a dramatic event, an explosion, which occurred about four thousand years ago. In cosmic terms, it’s a moment ago, ”explains Elvire de Beck, astronomer at Chalmers.

The next Galaxy supernova?

Why the DFK 52 loses as much mass without exploding like a supernova is not yet clear. One possibility is that the star has a hidden companion who helped him reject his exterior diapers.

“For us, it is a mystery as to the way the star managed to expel so much material in such a short time.

Red Supergiants like DFK 52 are approaching the ends of their lives and should possibly explode in the form of supernovae. Could this star be the next one?

“We are planning more observations to understand what is going on – and to know if it could be the next supernova in the Milky Way. If it is a typical red supergiant, it could explode in the coming years, “explains Elvire de Beck.

Reference: “Stephenson 2 DFK 52: Discovery of an exotic red supergiant in the solid stellar cluster RSGC2” by Ma Siebert, E. de Beck, G. Quintana-Lacaci and Wht Vlemmings, August 6, 2025, Astronomy and astrophysics.
DOI: 10.1051 / 0004-6361 / 202555975

The study was carried out by Mark Siebert, Elvire de Beck and Wouter Vlemmings of the University of Technology in Chalmers in Sweden, as well as Guillermo Quintana Lacaci of the Instituto de Fisica Fundamental in Spain.

Red supergitors are among the brightest and rarest stars visible in the universe. They represent the last stage in the life of the stars that started with a much greater mass than our sun (more than eight times its mass). For astronomers, these stars are crucial to bring together the life cycles of stars and planets. The most massive produce and release newly created elements in the interstellar space, stirring gas and dust and fueling the formation of future generations of stars.

In our own galaxy, the Milky Way, some red supergirants are visible without telescope for anyone under a dark sky. Two of the best known examples are betelger in the Orion and Antares in Scorpius constellation.

The large millimeter / submillimetric Atacama network (ALMA) is a world class observatory located in Chile. It works as a collaboration between THATThe US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NIN) of Japan, working with the Republic of Chile.

In Sweden, the Onsala space observatory at the Chalmers University of Technology played a role in Alma from the start. Among its contributions are specialized receptors built for the telescope. OnSala also welcomes Nordic Alma Regional Center, which offers technical expertise for the project and helps astronomers across Nordic countries to fully use the capacities of Alma.

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