Using data from the MMTO’s Hectospec, astronomers have identified a rare specimen of massive star known as a Wolf-Rayet WN/C. Located in an area of active star formation in the nearby Andromeda Galaxy, the star is believed to be in a short-lived transitional state between two longer phases of its stellar life and, therefore, difficult to catch. While some stars of this type have been found in our own Milky Way, this is the first to have been discovered in Andromeda. Read more about this serendipitous finding here.