WOH G64, also known as the “massive star,” is a red giant star that was previously expected to soon detonate in a fierce supernova, due to recent studies that revealed a shell of dust encircling it.(Image credit: ESO/K. Ohnaka et al.)
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One of the most immense stars in existence, previously considered to be nearing a violent supernova ending, might not imminently explode after all, a fresh study indicates. The stunning conclusion also implies that the stellar “behemoth” is steadily being devoured by a tinier, concealed companion.
WOH G64, widely referred to as the “massive star,” stands as a red supergiant situated about 163,000 light-years distant from Earth, inside the Large Magellanic Cloud — a minor galaxy that closely encircles the Milky Way. The colossal star is roughly 1,500 times broader than the sun, positioning it as one of the largest stars ever recognized. It also radiates up to 282,000 times brighter compared to our home star.
In recent times, WOH G64 had gotten notably dimmer, implying that the gigantic star was changing into a smaller and hotter yellow hypergiant via losing its outermost strata of gas. Anytime this transpires to a red supergiant, it generally signals that the star is on the verge of becoming a supernova. Considering the star has been around for approximately 5 million years — nearing the maximum duration for red supergiants, which exhaust their fuel far quicker than sunlike stars do — it appeared probable that this was occurring.
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More proof of an imminent blast emerged in November 2024, when scientists captured a highly detailed image of WOH G64 with the Very Large Telescope situated in Chile — the premier such image for an object beyond our galaxy — and spotted an “egg-shaped cocoon” composed of gas and dust encompassing the star. This implied the star had shed its external layers and transformed into a yellow hypergiant, as experts presumed.
However, within the new research, documented Jan. 7 in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, scientists reassessed WOH G64, employing the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) — and they pinpointed a crucial detail that puts into question the broadly recognized supernova supposition.
This AI-generated image shared by the researchers shows WOH G64 losing its gas to a cannibalistic sibling, which may explain its recent weirdness.
The team’s data, compiled by SALT’s potent spectroscope through November 2024 to December 2025, revealed titanium oxide — commonly exclusive to red supergiants — inside WOH G64’s atmosphere.
“This suggests that WOH G64 is presently a red supergiant and might not ever have quit being so,” study co-lead author Jacco van Loon, an astrophysicist at Keele University within England, conveyed in a statement. “We are practically watching a ‘phoenix’ ascending from the remnants,” he included.
But should WOH G64 not be morphing into a yellow hypergiant, why is it acting so peculiar?
The high-def photo of WOH G64’s egg-like cocoon was captured by the Very Large Telescope, Chile in November 2024.
The research group surmises the immense star constitutes a binary arrangement alongside a smaller star. In this instance, its diminutive mate, potentially radiating blue, is probably drawing WOH G64’s outer layers into a circumstellar disk.
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“The atmosphere of the red supergiant is being stretched out by the approach of the companion star, but it has not been stripped altogether,” van Loon said. “It persists.”
This hypothesis was likewise proposed when the star’s dusty cocoon got photographed in 2024, though it neglected to gain acceptance.
All eyes are presently fixed on WOH G64 for more indications concerning when the stellar behemoth will ultimately explode.
Article Sources
Van Loon, J. T., & Ohnaka, K. (2026). A phoenix rises from the ashes: WOH G64 is still a red supergiant, for now. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 546(2). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stag012
Harry BakerSocial Links NavigationSenior Staff Writer
Harry is a U.K.-based senior staff writer at Live Science. He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to become a journalist. He covers a wide range of topics including space exploration, planetary science, space weather, climate change, animal behavior and paleontology. His recent work on the solar maximum won “best space submission” at the 2024 Aerospace Media Awards and was shortlisted in the “top scoop” category at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence in 2023. He also writes Live Science’s weekly Earth from space series.
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