Astronomers using ALMA have discovered a vast bubble of gas and dust surrounding the red supergiant star DFK 52 — the largest structure of its kind ever seen in the Milky Way. Containing as much mass as the Sun and stretching 1.4 light years across, the bubble was created by a dramatic stellar eruption about 4000 years ago.
The study, led by Mark Siebert of Chalmers University of Technology, shows how unusual such an event is: why the star survived without exploding as a supernova remains a mystery. Researchers suggest a hidden companion may have played a role. The findings, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, provide new clues to the late lives of massive stars and raise the question of whether DFK 52 could be the galaxy’s next supernova.
Read the full press release here.
Image: The vast bubble around red supergiant star DFK 52, imaged by Alma. Red colours indicate gas moving away from us, blue denotes gas moving toward us. Credit: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. Siebert et al.