---
title: "Scientists Discovered a Star That Explodes Every Year"
description: "Scientists have discovered a star in the Andromeda Galaxy that explodes every year — the first of its kind in the known universe."
date: "2019-02-22"
modified: "2019-02-22"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/star-explodes-every-year"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "space"
  - "star"
  - "supernova"
  - "the digest"
---

# Scientists Discovered a Star That Explodes Every Year

![Scientists have discovered a star in the Andromeda Galaxy that explodes every year — the first of its kind in the known universe.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/scientists-discovered-a-star-that-explodes-every-year.png>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Explosive Strength

Scientists have [discovered a star](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0825-4.epdf>) in the Andromeda Galaxy that explodes every year — the first of its kind in the known universe.

"When we first discovered that M31N 2008-12a erupted every year, we were very surprised," San Diego State University astrophysicist Allen Shafter said in a [press release](<https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-02/sdsu-fed021519.php>).

## Blowing Up

Shafter and colleagues describe the peculiar star in a [new paper](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0825-4.epdf>) published in the journal *Nature*.

M31N 2008-12a's explosive routine, they believe, is due to its codependent relationship with a nearby star. It constantly sucks away its companion's hydrogen, which explodes violently about once per year.

## Big Bang

The constant explosions have created an extraordinary "super-remnant" of stellar debris that's 400 light-years across.

The researchers suspect that the star is gearing up for an eventual supernova that will destroy it completely — and give scientists new insight into the type of activity that leads to a supernova.

"They are, in effect, the measuring rods that allow us to map the visible universe," Shafter said. "Despite their importance, we don't fully understand where they come from."

**READ MORE:** [This Star in Andromeda Has Exploded Every Year for Millions of Years](<http://astronomy.com/news/2019/02/annually-exploding-star-found-in-andromeda>) \[*Astronomy*\]

***More on Andromeda: [When Galaxies Merge, the Black Holes in Their Hearts Fuse Together](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/galaxies-merge-black-holes-hearts-fuse>)***

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)