On the other, the dust grains might be transparent to light, allowing them to survive, but then how would they get pushed out into space? [ Video: Red Giant Star Rotation ] ...

The star — now supernova — is located in the NGC 5731 galaxy about 120 million light-years away from Earth, and was 10 times more massive than the sun, the release said.

Astronomers were able to watch the unusually violent death of a red supergiant star for the first time. The observations completely change how they understand the final days of massive stars.

Red Star Rising. Small, cool stars may be hot spots for life. By Mark Alpert. Join Our Community of Science Lovers! Sign Up for Our Free Daily Newsletter. Enter your email.