When a star suddenly brightened in 1961, many assumed it had died in a supernova — but it seems that the light has not yet gone out. Schuyler Van Dyk at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and Thomas Matheson at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, Arizona, examined ground- and space-based observations, and say that it still lives.

The duo reports that the star, designated 'Object 7', can be seen on the Hubble Space Telescope as a luminous blue variable (LBV) star. The authors suggest that the decades-old outburst could represent a 'supernova imposter', a type of explosion for which LBVs are known that doesn't destroy the parent star. Nevertheless, Object 7 may be on course to explode, and astronomers should look out for its stellar death rattle.

Astrophys. J. 746, 179 (2012)