A star 2 million times brighter than the sun disappears without a trace

The star disappeared in 2019, an extremely unnatural occurrence for a celestial body that size

A ‘monster’ star that shone over 2 million times brighter than the sun disappeared without a trace in 2019.

A study published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society has included shocking information about the star. This luminous blue variable (LBV) was located in the constellation Aquarius.

They believe that the explanation that stands out is that the star disappeared due to it collapsing in a black hole without undergoing a supernova first. Some scientists describe this as a never before seen act of “interstellar suicide”.

“We may have detected one of the most massive stars of the local universe going gently into the night," said Jose Groh, an astronomer from Trinity COllege Dublin. He has also written a paper on said star.

“If true, this would be the first direct detection of such a monster star ending its life in this manner,” says Andrew Allan who is also from the same institution.

The star was located 75 million light-years away and was studied for 10 years, between 2001 and 2011. There are only a dozen such recorded instances of such stars.

The star and its mysterious disappearance has left scientists alarmed. It is unnatural for a star larger than our sun to end its life without a supernova.