Challenging NASA's prediction of a star's supernova fate.

NASA recently featured Wolf-Rayet star WR 124 as a "future supernova" within the Milky Way, but the fate of this star is uncertain. While stars with over 8 solar masses are fated for a core-collapse supernova, many Wolf-Rayet stars lose too much mass over time, leaving a core that contracts to a white dwarf. Other Wolf-Rayet stars will indeed collapse, but directly into a black hole with no accompanying supernova. With direct collapse and extreme mass loss still possible, WR 124 might not ever go supernova.