# Observed properties of red supergiant and massive AGB star populations

## TL;DR

This review discusses the observed properties of red supergiants and massive AGB stars in nearby galaxies, focusing on their luminosity, mass loss, dust production, and their potential as supernova progenitors, with future prospects from new telescopes.

## Contribution

It synthesizes current observational knowledge of massive evolved stars and highlights future research opportunities with upcoming astronomical facilities.

## Key findings

- Red supergiants and AGB stars have distinct luminosity functions.
- Mass-loss rates and dust production vary among these stars.
- These stars are key candidates for supernova progenitors.

## Abstract

This brief review describes some of the observed properties of the populations of massive asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and red supergiants (RSGs) found in nearby galaxies, with a focus on their luminosity functions, mass-loss rates and dust production. I do this within the context of their role as potential supernova (SN) progenitors, and the evolution of SNe and their remnants. The paper ends with an outlook to the near future, in which new facilities such as the James Webb Space Telescope offer a step change in our understanding of the evolution and fate of the coolest massive stars in the Universe.