binary

Not One, Not Two, But Three Planetary Systems Are Forming Around This Binary Star

by

Astronomers have spied three whole systems of exoplanets being born around one binary star. SVS 13 is a binary star system 980 light-years away, and the complex structures of dust around it are shedding light on how planetary systems are born in these fascinating environments. Since a large proportion of stars is bound up in … Read more

Closest black hole is actually just one star eating another

by

Two years ago, astronomers thought they had seen signs of a black hole 1000 light years from Earth – but it turns out to be a star being consumed by its neighbour Space 2 March 2022 By Alex Wilkins An artist’s impression of the binary star system HR 6819 ESO/L. Calçada Strange signals coming from … Read more

2 Supermassive Black Holes Are Locked in The Tightest Orbit We’ve Seen Yet

by

A dance of death is taking place at the heart of a galaxy in the distant Universe. Some 10 billion light-years away, two supermassive black holes are locked in an orbit so tight that they will collide with each other and form one much larger black hole in the relatively short time of just 10,000 … Read more

Even Dying Stars Could Give Birth to Brand New Planets, Says Study

by

When young stars coalesce out of a cloud of molecular hydrogen, a disk of leftover material called a protoplanetary disk surrounds them. This disk is where planets form, and astronomers are getting better at peering into those veiled environments and watching embryonic worlds take shape. But young stars aren’t the only stars with disks of … Read more

Astronomers Keep Finding Stars That Should Be Dead. Now, We May Finally Know Why

by

The most massive stars in the Universe are also the shortest-lived. The more mass a star has, the more quickly it burns through its fuel reserves, resulting in lifespans that are less than around 10 million years.   This fascinating fact leads us to a puzzle. Most of these stars are found relatively close to … Read more

New Models Let Us Dive Into One of The Brightest Star Explosions We’ve Ever Seen

by

A star that exploded into brightness nearly 200 years ago can now be explored in glorious, multi-wavelength detail. In a new video, a team of scientists modeled the Homunculus Nebula around the star Eta Carinae in three dimensions, enabling insight into this incredible event.   The binary system Eta Carinae started erupting in the late … Read more

Astronomers Discovery a Brand New Type of Nebula, And It’s Very Cool

by

Most Universe Today readers are familiar with nebulae. They’re gaseous structures lit up with radiation from nearby stars, and they’re some of nature’s most beautiful forms. With the help of amateur astronomers who laid the groundwork, an international team of astronomers has discovered a new type of nebulae around binary stars that they’re calling galactic … Read more