Overview
- WOH G64, a massive star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, appeared to shift from red to yellow in 2013–2014, prompting claims of a sharp temperature rise.
- A Nature Astronomy study led by Gonzalo Muñoz‑Sanchez argues the star entered a rare yellow hypergiant phase and likely forms a symbiotic binary system.
- Follow-up spectra published in January 2026 by Jacco van Loon and Keiichi Ohnaka using the Southern African Large Telescope reveal titanium oxide bands consistent with a red supergiant.
- The system shows heavy mass loss and complex circumstellar dust, with past estimates of an envelope totaling several solar masses that can complicate color and brightness readings.
- Observers reported an unusually large ~2‑magnitude dimming in 2025, and astronomers emphasize continued multiwavelength monitoring to resolve the star’s true state and trajectory.