There will be a new brightest star in the sky, when it explodes in about 60 years

Photos: Wonders of the universe
This is an infrared image of Apep, a Wolf-Rayet star binary system located 8,000 light-years from Earth.
Hide Caption
1 of 196

Photos: Wonders of the universe
An artist's illustration, left, helps visualize the details of an unusual star system, GW Orionis, in the Orion constellation. The system's circumstellar disk is broken, resulting in misaligned rings around its three stars.
Hide Caption
2 of 196

Photos: Wonders of the universe
This is a simulation of two spiral black holes that merge and emit gravitational waves.
Hide Caption
3 of 196

Photos: Wonders of the universe
This artist's illustration shows the unexpected dimming of the star Betelgeuse.
Hide Caption
4 of 196

Photos: Wonders of the universe
This extremely distant galaxy, which looks similar to our own Milky Way, appears like a ring of light.
Hide Caption
5 of 196

Photos: Wonders of the universe
This artist's interpretation shows the calcium-rich supernova 2019ehk. The orange represents the calcium-rich material created in the explosion. Purple reveals gas shed by the star right before the explosion.
Hide Caption
6 of 196

Photos: Wonders of the universe
The blue dot at the center of this image marks the approximate location of a supernova event which occurred 140 million light-years from Earth, where a white dwarf exploded and created an ultraviolet flash. It was located close to tail of the Draco constellation.
Hide Caption
7 of 196
