Unraveling the Birth of Extreme "Blue Supergiant" Stars

Astronomers may have discovered that blue supergiant stars are formed when two stars in a binary system merge, solving a long-standing mystery. The team of researchers analyzed 59 early B-type blue supergiants and conducted stellar simulations, finding that mergers may be the dominant channel for producing these extreme stars. This discovery could have significant implications for understanding the birth of blue supergiant stars and the role of binary star mergers in shaping galaxies. The next step for the researchers is to investigate how the supernova explosions of blue supergiant stars create neutron stars and black holes.