NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has helped uncover what may be driving why a giant star called AT 2016blu kept exploding: 27 times.
Instead of being destroyed, the star survived each blast.
The reason? A hidden cosmic companion (either a black hole or a neutron star) kept swooping by, stealing material from AT 2016blu and causing dramatic bursts of X-rays and light.
Fifteen-year collaboration pieced at 2016blu puzzle
This discovery could help astronomers understand why certain massive stars undergo dramatic changes shortly before ending their lives in supernova explosions.
The findings also show just how valuable teamwork is: both professional observatories and more than 30 amateur astronomers spent 15 years piecing together this puzzle, proving that collaboration really can crack the toughest cosmic mysteries.