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MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research

MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research

Research Institute

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Stories

The silent deaths: stars that collapse into black holes without exploding

New Capabilities

Leading M31-2014-DS1 investigation

For decades, astronomers assumed all massive stars end their lives in spectacular supernova explosions. But a quiet revolution in observations has revealed that some stars simply vanish—collapsing directly into black holes without the cosmic fireworks. Two confirmed cases, one in the Fireworks Galaxy and another in Andromeda, now suggest that 10 to 30 percent of massive stars may meet this silent end.

Updated Jan 21