Stars
We Can't See the First Stars Yet, but We Can See Their Direct Descendants
The first stars in the Universe were enormous, made of primordial hydrogen and helium from the Big Bang. They lived…
It’s Like Looking at the Infant Sun: Webb Captures Image of an Energetic Young Star
Ever wondered what our young Sun might have looked like in its infancy some five billion years ago? The audacious…
A Black Hole Nibbles on a Star Every 22 Days, Slowly Consuming it
Astronomers working with NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory have spotted something unusual. The observatory's X-Ray Telescope (XRT) has captured emissions…
A Giant Black Hole Destroyed a Star and Threw the Pieces Into Space
A pair of X-ray telescopes have observed the messy aftermath of a star that came too close to a supermassive…
Giant Tidal Waves are Crashing Onto the Surface of an Enormous Star
Although the surface of a star seems quite different from the ocean, the underlying effect of gravity can create similar…
Astronomers Find a Newly-Forming Quadruple-Star System
Scientists have observed a rare quadruple star system in formation, revealing new insights into how multi-star systems form.
JWST Turns its Gaze on the Farthest Known Star: Earendel
In March 2022, astronomers announced the discovery of the farthest known star via an image taken by the Hubble Space…
Yes! A JWST Image of the Ring Nebula
Brace yourselves for great JWST views of the iconic Ring Nebula (M57). An international team of astronomers just released a…
New Simulation Reveals the Churning Interiors of Giant Stars
Stellar fusion happens at a star's core, where the enormous temperatures and pressures fuse hydrogen atoms into helium, releasing radiation.…
Astronomers are Watching a Planet Get its Atmosphere Blasted Away into Space
What do you get when a hot young world orbits a wildly unstable young red dwarf? For AU Microsopii b,…