Astronomers capture red supergiant's death throes

For the first time ever, astronomers have imaged in real-time the dramatic end to a red supergiant's life -- watching the massive star's rapid self-destruction and final death throes before collapsing into a type II supernova. Led by researchers at Northwestern University and the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), the team observed the red supergiant during its last 130 days leading up to its deadly detonation.