Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

CLASSIC: A Cosmic Murder Mystery: The Star That Simply Vanished

Dec 9, 2025
What happens when a star mysteriously vanishes? Dive into a cosmic whodunit as hosts explore the Kinman Dwarf galaxy's elusive luminous blue variable star that disappeared without a trace. They unravel stellar life cycles, discuss puzzling supernova signatures, and even entertain the possibility of advanced civilizations using the star as a power source. Could it simply be dimmed by dust, or has it collapsed into a black hole? Join the investigation as they ponder the implications of a missing star in our universe.
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INSIGHT

Stellar Deaths Usually Leave Evidence

  • Massive stars end violently in supernovae, leaving observable debris and bright, long-lived remnants.
  • The LBV in Kinman Dwarf defied that pattern by showing no supernova signature, creating the mystery.
ANECDOTE

Student-Led Discovery Of A Vanished Star

  • Andrew Allen, a doctoral student, reobserved an LBV using the Very Large Telescope and found it missing.
  • Researchers traced prior observations from 2001–2011 and found the star vanished between 2011 and 2019.
INSIGHT

Cosmic Dust Can Hide Stars

  • Intervening dust or material can obscure a distant star and make it appear to vanish temporarily.
  • Given 75 million light years of sightline, an obscuring veil remains a plausible mundane explanation.
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