Gemini North and Gemini South Capture the Fading Light of SN 2025kg

This sequence of images shows the fading light of the supernova SN 2025kg, which followed the fast X-ray transient EP 250108a, a powerful blast of X-rays that was detected by Einstein Probe (EP) in early 2025. Using a combination of telescopes, including the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab, and the SOAR telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of NSF NOIRLab, a team of astronomers studied the evolving signal of EP 250108a/SN 2025kg to uncover details about its origin. Their analysis reveals that fast X-ray transients can result from the ‘failed’ explosive death of a massive star.