Astronomers have been studying star WOH G64 for a while . It ’s a red supergiant in the galaxy next door , theLarge Magellanic Cloud , and it is consider to be in the last microscope stage before going supernova . Researchers have now broken a record by really photographing it in detail – this had never been done before .

We see sensation in other galaxies , and we can measure their attribute , but to actually have a high - solvent photo of a single aim 160,000 light - years off is an unbelievable achievement . It was potential thanks to the European Southern Observatory ’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer ( ESO ’s VLTI ) .

“ For the first time , we have succeeded in require a zoomed - in image of a dying star in a wandflower outside our own Milky fashion , ” confidential information writer Keiichi Ohnaka , an astrophysicist from Universidad Andrés Bello in Chile , said in astatement .

As a supergiant , the genius is a lot big than the Sun . Still , this one makes other evolved stars reckon like snowy dwarfs . It is 2,000 time large than our little yellow Sun . In the final stages of their life , stars like WOH G64 shed their outer level and this is seen in the image . The ellipse cocoon around the fundamental adept is on the nose that material being blown off .

“ We reveal an egg - mould cocoon tight surround the ace , ” added Ohnaka . “ We are aroused because this may be related to the drastic expulsion of stuff from the die star before a supernova explosion . ”

The shape of the cocoon surprised scientists ; older and less elaborated observations combined with calculator models evoke a different shape . There might be ahidden companionthat is causing the discrepancy .

The maven has also become dimmer over the last decennium , which might make future observations more unmanageable . It might also think we are getting near to its volatile final stage .

“ We have discover that the star topology has been experiencing a significant change in the last 10 years , render us with a rare chance to find a star ’s life in real time , ” allege co - author Gerd Weigelt , an astronomy professor at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn , Germany .

" This star is one of the most extreme of its form , and any drastic change may play it closer to an explosive remainder , " added fellow co - generator Jacco van Loon , Keele Observatory Director at Keele University , UK , who has beenkeeping an eye on WOH G64 since the 1990s .

The study is published in the journalAstronomy & Astrophysics .