Related papers: A New Luminous blue variable in the outskirt of th…
We present new photometric and spectroscopic observations of an unusual luminous blue variable (LBV) in NGC 3432, covering three major outbursts in October 2008, April 2009 and November 2009. Previously, this star experienced an outburst…
The most massive stars, with initial masses above ~50M_sun, encounter a phase of extreme mass loss - sometimes accompanied by so-called giant eruptions - in which the stars' evolution is reversed from a redward to a blueward motion in the…
While massive stars are known to shape galactic ecosystems, their formation has long been assumed to require the high-density environments of inner galactic disks. This paradigm is challenged by mounting evidence of young massive stars in…
(Abridged) Stars more massive than $20-30M_{\odot}$ are so luminous that the radiation force on the cooler, more opaque outer layers can balance or exceed the force of gravity. These near or super-Eddington outer envelopes represent a long…
We investigate a suspected very massive star in one of the most metal-poor dwarf galaxies, PHL~293B. Excitingly, we find the sudden disappearance of the stellar signatures from our 2019 spectra, in particular the broad H lines with P~Cygni…
I review recent progress on understanding eruptions of unstable massive stars, with particular attention to the diversity of observed behavior in extragalatic optical transient sources that are generally associated with giant eruptions of…
We present spectroscopy and discuss the photometric history of a previously obscure star in M31. The spectrum of the star is an extremely close match to that of P Cygni, one of the archetypes of Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs). The star has…
We present a new luminous star in M33 located in the nuclear region. The star shows strong FeII and [FeII] forest, hydrogen emissions in the spectrum, as well as nebular lines. TiII and SiII lines were detected in absorption, their radial…
In this Letter, we report the results of spectroscopic and photometric monitoring of the candidate luminous blue variable (LBV) WS1, which was discovered in 2011 through the detection of a mid-infrared circular shell and follow-up optical…
While performing a survey to detect recoiling supermassive black holes, we have identified an unusual source having a projected offset of 800 pc from a nearby dwarf galaxy. The object, SDSS J113323.97+550415.8, exhibits broad emission lines…
The progenitors of Type IIP supernovae have an apparent upper limit to their initial masses of about 20 solar masses, suggesting that the most massive red supergiants evolve to warmer temperatures before their terminal explosion. But very…
We search for LBV stars in galaxies outside the Local Group. Here we present a study of two bright $H\alpha$ sources in the NGC 247 galaxy. Object j004703.27-204708.4 ($M_V=-9.08 \pm 0.15^m$) shows the spectral lines typical for…
We present the results of spectroscopy and multi-wavelength photometry of luminous and variable star candidates in the nearby spiral galaxies NGC 2403 and M81. We discuss specific classes of stars, the Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs), B[e]…
We report the discovery of a new cataclysmic variable in MASTER database which is identical to the faint ROSAT X-ray source 1RXS J015017.0+375614. The object was observed in outbursts to 14.9m on 2012 Nov. 28 and to 14.3m on 2013 Jan. 07,…
So far the highly unstable phase of luminous blue variables (LBVs) has not been understood well. It is still uncertain why and which massive stars enter this phase. Investigating the variabilities by looking for a possible regular or even…
Mass loss is one of the key parameters that determine stellar evolution. Despite the progress we have achieved over the last decades we still cannot match the observational derived values with theoretical predictions. Even worse, there are…
We present deep imaging of Andromeda XXXVI (And XXXVI), a dwarf galaxy discovered through visual inspection of the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey, using observations obtained with the OSIRIS+GTC instrument. The colour-magnitude diagram…
We investigated the molecular environment of AFGL 2298, an obscured Galactic Luminous blue variable (LBV) star which hosts a highly structured circumstellar environment with hints of multiple mass-loss events in the last few $10^4$ a. We…
We report optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of the M33 star B416, establishing it as the fifth identified LBV in that galaxy. The B magnitude of the star varies with a period of 8.26 day and an amplitude of 0.03 magnitude.…
Luminous blue variables (LBVs) exhibit unique variability features, characterized by episodic outbursts ($>$1 mag) accompanied by spectroscopic changes (S Dor variables). It is debated if all massive stars undergo an LBV-like phase during…