Death of red supergiant star witnessed for first time

For the first time, astronomers have witnessed the death of red supergiant star in outer space.

The red supergiant dramatically self destructed and collapsed into a type II supernova.

A team of researchers led by Northwestern University and the University of California, Berkeley observed the giant star for 130 days leading up to its destruction, a media release from Northwestern University explained.

“Direct detection of pre-supernova activity in a red supergiant star has never been observed before in an ordinary type II supernova.

"For the first time, we watched a red supergiant star explode" said the study's lead author," Wynn Jacobson-Galán.

Initially researchers believed red supergiant's were somewhat inactive before death, but, this extraordinary display has proved otherwise.

“This is a breakthrough in our understanding of what massive stars do moments before they die,” he said.