Technology • Jul 04, 2025

Massive stars spew matter before becoming black holes

Scientists have found that super-massive stars—over 100 times heavier than our sun—actually shed way more of their outer layers before becoming black holes than earlier theories suggested.
By studying the Tarantula Nebula, they saw these "rock star" stars blasting out powerful winds, which changes what we know about how black holes form.

TL;DR

Study hints at how massive stars might form

These stronger stellar winds could explain why really huge black holes are pretty rare in space.
The research also hints at how massive stars like R136a1 might form—either as single giants or from star mergers.
As researcher Kendall Shepherd put it, these stars "quickly change their environment by spreading important elements for new stars and life."
The study is available as a preprint on arXiv.