A red supergiant star transitions into a type II supernova in this animation. Credit: W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko | mash mix by Space.com's Steve Spaleta ...

(CNN) — Astronomers have captured the first close-up image of a star beyond our galaxy, taken during a dramatic moment near the end of the star’s life. In it, the ...

Rare blue supergiant stars are some of the hottest, brightest stars in the universe. But other distant supernovas have shown that before they exploded, stars ejected dense clouds decades beforehand.

Rare blue supergiant stars are some of the hottest, brightest stars in the universe. But other distant supernovas have shown that before they exploded, stars ejected dense clouds decades beforehand.

Rare blue supergiant stars are some of the hottest, brightest stars in the universe. But other distant supernovas have shown that before they exploded, stars ejected dense clouds decades beforehand.

The large blue star on the opposite side, across from the three stars constituting Orion's belt, is the blue supergiant Rigel. A star becomes a Type II supernova, which is likely the case for ...

No supernova had been seen so close ... The case for a neutron star grew as further analysis revealed SN 1987A’s progenitor had likely been a blue supergiant star about 18 times the mass of ...

The explosion was of a huge star, 20 times the mass of our Sun, a so-called blue supergiant. Its life ended in spectacular style in a process called a supernova, prosaically called SN 1987A, by ...