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2h ago

Closest 'Failed Supernova' Candidate Reported as Star in Andromeda Appears to Vanish

A rival peer‑reviewed study argues a dust‑shrouded stellar merger, leaving confirmation to years of follow‑up.

An illustration of a star that collapsed, forming a black hole without an explosive supernova event, where it's surrounded by a dust shell moving away from the unseen black hole at the center and gas being pulled toward it, in this image released on February 12, 2026. Keith Miller, Caltech/IPAC – SELab/Handout via REUTERS.
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These images show the location (and disappearance) of M31-2014-DS1. (A) is a color composite. The area in the yellow dashed square is the region shown in images (B), (C), and (D), where (D) is the difference between (B) and (C). Images (E) through (J) are zoomed-in shots of the star taken in the labeled years. Credit: NIR Keck image
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Overview

  • The Science study reports that Andromeda’s M31-2014-DS1 brightened around 2014–2015 and had faded from NEOWISE detection by 2022, matching expectations for a quiet collapse.
  • Modeling indicates a roughly five‑solar‑mass black hole veiled by about a tenth of a solar mass of dust, from a progenitor star of about 12–13 solar masses.
  • The team assembled multiwavelength evidence from NEOWISE, Hubble and ground‑based data, identifying a faint reddish source where the once‑bright star had been.
  • JWST and Chandra observations obtained in 2024 are described by the authors as supportive, though those data were not included in the paper and have not been peer‑reviewed.
  • A peer‑reviewed MNRAS analysis led by Emma Beasor favors a dust‑enshrouded stellar merger, and astronomers say long‑term monitoring should distinguish it from permanent darkening expected for black‑hole formation.