The discovery of an unusual type of Wolf–Rayet star that does not go through a carbon-rich transitional phase should help to explain strong ionization in environments that lack heavier elements, while also forcing astronomers to rethink how the most massive stars evolve.
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Richardson, N.D. Unusual objects illuminate new evolutionary paths. Nat Astron (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02762-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02762-w
