stars

The Milky Way’s Dramatic History of Violence Has Been Charted in a New Map

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Over the course of the history of the Universe, the Milky Way has not been serenely sailing through intergalactic space. Quite the contrary, actually. Over the last 13.6 billion years or so, it has collided with and consumed multiple other galaxies.   Now, through painstaking work, astronomers led by Khyati Malhan of the Max Planck … Read more

White dwarf stars: Astronomers find unusually hot stars covered in ash

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An unusual pair of stars may have been formed in a rare type of stellar merger when a helium star eats another one made of carbon and oxygen Space 15 February 2022 By Leah Crane Artist’s impression of a merger between two white dwarf stars Nicole Reindl, University of Potsdam Two strange stars that researchers … Read more

Epic Search of Millions of Stars Finds No Traces of Intelligent Alien Life

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Are there civilizations somewhere else in the Universe? Somewhere else in the Milky Way? That’s one of our overarching questions, and an answer in the affirmative would be profound.   Humanity’s pursued the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) in one form or another since shortly after the advent of radio waves in the early 20th … Read more

Incredibly rare stellar merger may have created strange stars

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Two particularly strange stars may have formed in a lucky collision, according to new research. What makes these two stars unusual is the high levels of carbon and oxygen at the surface of their atmospheres. Those elements are left behind as a star burns its helium, but that process takes place in the star’s core … Read more

How many stars are in the universe?

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Looking up into the night sky, you might wonder just how many stars are in the universe. It’s challenging enough for an amateur astronomer to count the number of naked-eye stars that are visible and, with bigger telescopes, more stars become visible, making counting a lengthy process. So how do astronomers figure out how many … Read more

We Have The First Direct Evidence of a White Dwarf Violently Ripping Apart a Planet

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Black holes may be well known for their gluttonous tendencies, but they’re not the only dead stars capable of slurping down passing objects. For years, evidence has been mounting that white dwarf stars also have a penchant for snacking – and on their own planets, no less.   Now, for the first time, astronomers have … Read more

Mysterious Syndrome Turning Sea Stars Into Goo Reveals Another Strange Twist

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As we battle against our own pandemic, sea stars are being killed in the millions by a horrible condition that melts them into a sickly goo. Sadly, there’s no straightforward way to help these animals, such as protecting them with a vaccine, so conservation biologists have been desperately trying to find another way.   In … Read more

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

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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