First radio waves from exploding star reveal giant star’s final years

Astronomers have detected radio waves from a rare type of exploding star for the first time, providing a new method to study the final years of a massive star’s life before it ends in a supernova.

The discovery, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, focuses on a Type Ibn supernova. This rare category occurs when a giant star sheds vast amounts of helium-rich material shortly before its violent death.

A research team used the Very Large Array in New Mexico to track faint radio signals from the supernova for approximately 18 months. These signals provided clear evidence of gas the star ejected just years before the explosion—information that cannot be gathered using optical telescopes alone.

Lead author Raphael Baer-Way said the radio observations act like a “time machine” looking into the final decade of the star's life.

Scientists believe the star may have been part of a binary system. They suggest that interactions with a companion star played a primary role in the violent loss of mass leading up to the supernova.

The breakthrough represents a pivotal shift in astronomical methodology, marking a departure from the field’s long-standing reliance on optical observation. For decades, the study of supernovae has been constrained by the limitations of visible light; however, the successful detection of radio waves from a Type Ibn supernova validates existing theoretical frameworks regarding stellar mortality while cementing radio astronomy as a critical, multi-modal diagnostic tool capable of penetrating cosmic interference that obscures traditional optical sensors.

At the core of this discovery is the mechanism by which shockwaves interact with the star’s surrounding gas envelope. This interaction effectively functions as a chronological "mirror," transforming a catastrophic destructive event into a forensic opportunity. By capturing the data reflected in these waves, researchers can now reconstruct the terminal years of a star’s life—a critical evolutionary window that was previously inaccessible to direct observation. This provides the empirical baseline necessary to pressure-test and refine theoretical models of stellar evolution.

Furthermore, the hypothesis that binary star systems drive extreme mass loss underscores the inherent complexity of the celestial environment. The finding suggests that stellar death is rarely an isolated phenomenon, but rather one dictated by gravitational interactions and environmental variables. This discovery sets the stage for expanded large-scale surveys utilizing radio telescope arrays, promising to further codify the diverse mechanisms governing the life cycles of stars across the universe.

While this discovery doesn’t have a direct impact on the business or social landscape of the Vietnamese-American community, it remains a compelling topic for those who follow the latest developments in science and technology.