Astronomers find 'ringed' companion to dimmest star ever observed
A star called ASASSN-24fw, about 3,200 light-years away in the Monoceros constellation, surprised astronomers by dimming a whopping 97% for around 200 days (about 6-7 months) between late 2024 and mid-2025.
This happened after a period when the star had been known to be stable.
A massive brown dwarf or super-Jupiter with thick rings
Turns out, the culprit is a massive brown dwarf or super-Jupiter with thick, saucer-like rings of dust orbiting it.
As these rings passed in front of the star, they blocked almost all its light—kind of like a cosmic eclipse that lasted for months.
Next dimming event will be in around 2068
The event also led scientists to spot a nearby red dwarf companion.
Researchers hope to obtain more data with telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope to probe this billion-year-old system's secrets.
If you're hoping to catch the next big dimming event, mark your calendar—but not soon: it won't happen again until around 2068.