Two years ago, astronomers noticed one of the brightest stars in the neighbouring Andromeda galaxy had vanished after fading for nearly a decade. ADVERTISEMENTDe and his colleagues have found evidence that the star bypassed the explosive death astronomers expect from massive stars, confirming a decades-old prediction that some stars can skip the supernova stage — a phenomenon never conclusively observed until now. “Instead, this massive star quietly collapsed into a black hole. “The combination of disappearance in visible light, the absence of any explosion, and the residual infrared glow supports our black hole interpretation,” De explained. Their work provides crucial evidence to understand why some massive stars explode as supernovae while others implode directly.

Source: The Telegraph February 13, 2026 00:16 UTC