Astronomers have found a direct link between the explosive deaths of massive stars and the formation of the most compact and enigmatic objects in the universe—black holes and neutron stars. With the help of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) and ESO's New Technology Telescope (NTT), two teams were able to observe the aftermath of a supernova explosion in a nearby galaxy, finding evidence for the mysterious compact object it left behind.