as one of the most spectacular fireworks displays in the universe. The last gasp of a sufficiently large star in its death throes, the star's explosive finale often becomes the brightest point of light in an entire galaxy in less than a second and can remain so for several weeks afterward before fading away into a spectacular nebula spread across dozens if not hundreds of light-years.
For the first time ever, astronomers have simulated how these massive stars seemingly fade away and disappear when they enter their pre-explosion phase. They have concluded that massive stars in the last phase of their lives, the so-called 'red supergiant' phase, will suddenly become around a hundred times fainter at visible wavelengths in the few months before they die.
This dimming is caused by the accumulation of material around the star, thwarting the light coming from it from being visible. Right before red supergiants explode, they are surrounded by a dense shell of celestial material."The dense material almost completely obscures the star, making it 100 times fainter in the visible part of the spectrum. This means that the day before the star explodes, you likely wouldn't be able to see it was there," said Dr.
"Until now, we've only been able to get detailed observations of supernovae hours after they've already happened. With this early-warning system, we can get ready to observe it in real-time, to point the world's best telescopes at it, and watch the surface of the star getting literally ripped apart in front of our eyes," Davies added.an effective method for predicting a supernova a few years in advance.
No shit Sherlock.