stars

Neutron stars release warm winds as they devour companion stars

by

Neutron stars release powerful warm winds after chowing down on their stellar companions, new research shows.  Neutron stars are the remains of more massive stars that reached the end of their lives and exploded in violent supernovas, leaving behind a dense core that continues to collapse in on itself. These stellar corpses are the densest … Read more

The Closest ‘Black Hole’ to Earth Isn’t What We Thought at All

by

What astronomers had concluded to be a black hole a mere 1,120 light-years from Earth instead appears to be something quite different: a two-star system where one of the stars is sucking the life out of the other.   Far from disappointing, though, the conclusion gives astronomers an exciting opportunity to explore how these ‘vampiric’ stars … Read more

The sky-measuring trick that every stargazer should know

by

There’s a no-nonsense technique for navigating between stars and constellations and all it requires is putting your hand in the air, says Abigail Beall Space 23 February 2022 By Abigail Beall Arnaud Lesueur/Alamy THIS week, instead of looking for a particular target, we will try a technique for measuring distances in the sky. Once you … Read more

A Major Signal From ‘The First Stars’ May Not Have Come From Space at All

by

A signal interpreted as the first light illuminating the Universe may not be from the far reaches of the Universe after all, a new study has found. In fact, it may not even be from space.   Far from being a problem, however, this new finding may just set the Universe to rights. The signal, … Read more

New sky map showcases more than 4 million galaxies, stars and other objects

by

Millions of new objects have just been cataloged in a vast new sky map that will lead to more investigations about our universe’s environment, the discovery team says. A map of roughly one-quarter of the northern sky was generated using a pan-European set of telescopes called the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR). It detected objects that … Read more

For The First Time, a Tatooine-Like Planet Has Been Detected Via a Wobbling Star

by

Not all planetary systems are alike. Out there in the big, wide galaxy, a number of different configurations have been spotted, some vastly different from our home system. These include extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, that orbit not one, but two stars, like the fictional Star Wars world of Tatooine.   Now, for the first time, astronomers … Read more

Hubble telescope spots a ‘Space Triangle’ galaxy crash spawning new stars

by

A head-on collision between galaxies has created a vast, cosmic triangle in deep space glittering with star formation in a new image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The new photo, which NASA released Tuesday (Feb. 22), shows a pair of colliding galaxies known as called Arp 143 arranged in a what scientists described as … Read more

Real shooting stars exist, but they aren’t the streaks you see in a clear night sky

by

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Idan Ginsburg, Academic Faculty in Physics & Astronomy, Georgia State University “I see thy glory like a shooting star.” So says the Earl of Salisbury as he ruminates about the future in Shakespeare’s “Richard II.” Shooting stars — … Read more

Mysterious Repeating Fast Radio Burst Traced to Very Unexpected Location

by

A recently discovered repeating fast radio burst (FRB) named FRB 20200120E is deepening the mystery of these already deeply mysterious space signals. Astronomers have tracked its location to a galaxy 11.7 million light-years away, which makes it the closest known extragalactic fast radio burst, 40 times closer than the next-closest extragalactic signal.   But it … Read more

Stunning image shows galactic dance of stars swirling around a supermassive black hole

by

Young stars surround a supermassive black hole in a stunning new image captured by an instrument designed to search for dark energy. The image shows a face-on view of the galaxy NGC 1566, which is nicknamed the Spanish Dancer for its dramatic swirling shape. The photograph comes from an instrument called the Dark Energy Camera, … Read more