An international team of astronomers led by a researcher at Keele University has solved a long-standing cosmic mystery surrounding one of the most extreme stars ever observed. The star, known as WOH G64, is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud—a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way—and has long been regarded as the most luminous, coolest and dustiest red supergiant in that galaxy. Such massive stars are expected to end their lives in dramatic core-collapse supernova explosions.