WEB DESK: Who would have thought, folks? Fantasy meets space! Lord of the Ring’s Eye of Sauron meets exploding, dying star. Usually, the two combine to create science fiction but this time, it’s reality, not fiction.
What’s that, you ask? Sit down, strap your belts and hold on to your seats, for we are traveling 1.6 million light years!
Read more: Tiktoker Imsha Rehman’s viral video: Examining treatment of women in Pakistan
Scientists recently captured an image of a distant, dying star, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the fearful Eye of Sauron from JRR Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” series.
The image went viral immediately, with Lord of the Rings fans spotting the similarities straightway.
The unexpected connection has united the astronomers and LOTR fans like nothing ever will. The two came together to compare one of literature’s most recognisable symbols of darkness and power to its cosmic counterpart.
The star is a red supergiant, known for their immense size and brilliant luminosity. It resides in a galaxy reportedly 1.6 million light-years away from us.
The stellar giant is nearing the end of its life cycle, much like the ominous presence of the Eye of Sauron.
As the star approaches its demise, it is expected to undergo a huge supernova explosion, which could be visible from our planet.
Watching a living star die before our very eyes is a rare feat. It will also help the scientists gain valuable insights into stellar evolution and the fundamental processes that govern our universe.
The Eye of Sauron is the Middle Earth’s Big Bad, the last supervillain our heroes have to defeat. It symbolises tyranny and omnipresence within the lore, casting its watchful gaze across the Middle Earth.
The connection to the star might not be merely aesthetic: both the Eye and the star embody a looming threat – one from the realm of fiction and the other, from the vast emptiness of the vacuum.
Astronomers have long been fascinated by the life cycles of stars, particularly those huge enough to go explode like a hot, angry volcano.
Read more: Female NASA astronaut Sunita Williams faces serious health risks
The red supergiant is a reminder of the often tumultuous nature of the cosmos. As it nears its explosive finale, scientists are eager to observe the event, much as Tolkienites nearing the end of each book.
More detailed images of the star helped stellar astrophysicists examine the cosmological wonder in more detail. Hopefully, astronomers get to witness the explosion, because it’s gonna be a bang!