The most spectacular way that a star can 'go out' is to explode as a supernova. In 1987, a star in the Large Magellanic Cloud erupted as a supernova. Although some 160,000 light years away and normally undetectable except by advanced telescopic means, this star roared into brilliance so that it was visible to the naked eye. There have been 6 known 'historical' supernovae during the last few thousand years. In 1054 AD, a star in the constellation Taurus exploded and we now see an expanding nebula to mark its location.
Some stars go out with a whimper.
Over time, the production of these dust grains eventually extinguished all of the light from this star, and now all we can see is the vast cloud of heated dust grains, shining brightly at infrared wavelengths. Copyright 1997 Dr. Sten Odenwald Return to Ask the Astronomer .