Stars
Star Factories Haven’t Changed Much Over the Entire Age of the Universe
The ancient Universe is weird and secretive. Scientists have made laudable progress in uncovering more and more information on how…
How Old is That Star? Ask a Computer
A new machine learning technique could make it much easier to estimate the age of stellar populations.
A Neutron Star is Unwinding a Companion Star
Astronomers have found a bizarre binary star system where a neutron star orbits with another star. Its companion used to…
A Planet Was Swallowed by a Red Giant, But it Survived
When our Sun runs out of hydrogen fuel in its core, it'll switch to burning helium and bloat up as…
A New Way to Measure Distances in the Universe
If we want to understand the Universe, we have to start with its size. Ancient people had no idea there…
It Took Five Years and A Million Images to Make this Atlas of Stellar Nurseries
Star formation is an intricate process governed by a swarm of variables, and it all happens behind a thick veil…
One in Ten Stars Ate a Jupiter (Or Bigger)
In space, cataclysmic events happen to stars all the time. Some explode as supernovae, some get torn apart by black…
Astronomers Watch a Star Gulp Down One of its Planets
A star like our Sun only shines the way it does because of its intrinsic balance. Stars are massive, and…
Astronomers are Starting to Find the Wreckage Left Over from the First Stars in the Universe
The first stars were odd ducks. Nobody's observed them yet (although astronomers are hopeful JWST might spot them someday) but…
Be Grateful the Sun Can’t Produce Flares Like This
Okay, so we all know that the Sun is heading into solar maximum. That means it's quite a bit more…