In a first, astronomers watch a dying star explode in real time

For the first time, astronomers were able to witness the explosive end of a giant star as it happened.  

The first real-time look at the death of a red supergiant star was facilitated by ground-based telescopes.  

The star, which is located in the NGC 5731 galaxy about 120 million light-years away from Earth, was 10 times bigger than Sun before it burst out.  

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Before the stars die out, some witness violent eruptions or release huge amount of gas.   

The study, giving details about the findings over the death of the star, were published in The Astrophysical Journal on Thursday.  

The events, such as the death of a star, can be listed in one of the most dramatic and violent happenings in space.  

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In a statement, lead study author Wynn Jacobson-Galán, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at University of California, Berkeley, said, "This is a breakthrough in our understanding of what massive stars do moments before they die."   

"Direct detection of pre-supernova activity in a red supergiant star has never been observed before in an ordinary type II supernova. For the first time, we watched a red supergiant star explode," the author added.  

(With inputs from agencies)