Dying stars can emit a powerful jet of radiation, as seen in an artist’s impression Stocktrek Images, Inc./Alamy Astronomers think they have seen a type of explosion produced by a dying star called a dirty fireball for the first time, and it could help us understand how massive stars die. When a massive star runs out of fuel, it can collapse and explode in several ways. If a black hole is produced in the collapse, an extremely powerful jet of radiation can burst through the star, producing a flash of high-energy light called a gamma ray burst. These bursts are among the most powerful explosions in the universe and can emit energy equivalent to the total lifetime output of smaller stars, such as the sun, in a single beam. But astronomers still don’t know exactly how this process works or how variations between different massive stars affect the jet.…