Scientists thought this star was going to explode, but they made another discovery

The universe is still full of mysteries, and many estimates made by astronomers are sometimes wrong. This is the case with Behemoth, one of the largest stars in the universe, located 163,000 light-years from Earth. In recent years, astronomers have observed a decrease in its brightness, and thought that an explosion was supposed to occur.

While the spectacle would have been impressive, particularly due to the size of this star, which is 1,500 times larger than the Sun, it would appear that it was all a mistake. Indeed, if an image taken in 2024 by the Very Large Telescope in Chile showed gas and dust around it, its explosion is not expected in the near future.

Researchers at Keele University in the United Kingdom used the Southern African Large Telescope's spectroscope and discovered the presence of titanium oxide in its atmosphere. In other words, this means that it is still a red giant and not a yellow hypergiant, which is the prelude to a supernova.

To explain the variations in its brightness, scientists believe that a small blue star is located nearby. Its gravitational pull would attract certain particles, which would explain the presence of a circumstellar disk around WOH G64. Thus, new studies could unravel certain mysteries of this star, and it will be necessary to be patient before being able to observe a supernova in the sky.