Astronomers have succeeded in taking pictures of the giant star known as Gemini showing that this object - which is one of the most radioactive in the Milky Way - has lost a large part of its light in recent months, according to a statement issued by the European Southern Observatory on Friday.
These photos, taken by the observatory's "great telescope", which is composed of four large telescopes, allow the surface of this "giant red giant" in the Orion constellation to be visible, showing a decrease in its radiation level, as well as a visible change in its shape.
Also, this star was among the ten brightest stars in the galaxy, but since the middle of last November, its radiation has declined significantly, which made astronomers in a state of boiling, and called for a broad observation campaign. The pictures released today were taken through the "Ambassador" tool located in the "Great Telescope" in Chile.
"We see clearly that the star's radiation level has fallen to half of its apparent area," said Miguel Montargis, an astrophysicist at Kaiyu University in Leuven, Belgium.
"It appears, according to these images, that the radiation level is decreasing, but at a lower speed," he added.
The sudden decline in the level of radiation of the giant star sparked a state of boiling among astronomers. Several hypotheses have been put forward, including the possibility that the matter may be due to the release of quantities of gas, which caused dust that hides radiation, so that some have gone as far as to say that the affliction of Gemini is contested.