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Scientists still can’t explain the star that exploded repeatedly

Ellsworth Toohey
Dec 16, 2025
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By Lithopsian - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

iPTF14hls is a star that refuses to follow the rules. Discovered in September 2014, it was supposed to be a typical supernova —explode once, dim in about 100 days, leave behind a neutron star or black hole. Instead, it kept exploding for over 1,000 days, fluctuating in brightness at least five times and mainta…

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