Stellar Evolution
NASA Simulation Shows What Happens When Stars Get Too Close to Black Holes
What happens to a star when it strays too close to a monster black hole? Astronomers have wondered why some…
Quick Action Let Hubble Watch the Earliest Stages of an Unfolding Supernova Detonation
If it weren't for supernova remnants we wouldn't have much knowledge of supernovae themselves. If a supernova explosion is the…
Newly Forming Stars Don’t Blast Away Material as Previously Believed. So Why Do They Stop Growing?
We thought we understood how stars are formed. It turns out, we don't. Not completely, anyway. A new study, recently…
An All-Sky X-Ray Survey Finds the Biggest Supernova Remnant Ever Seen
Our sky is missing supernovas. Stars live for millions or billions of years. But given the sheer number of stars…
A New Supernova Remnant Found from an Exploding White Dwarf Star
Astronomers have spotted the remnant of a rare type of supernova explosion. It's called a Type Iax supernova, and it's…
Why do Planetary Nebulae Look the Way They Do?
Planetary nebulae are the most beautiful objects in the night sky. Their gossamer shells of gas are otherworldly and evocative.…
A Galaxy is Making New Stars Faster Than its Black Hole Can Starve Them for Fuel
A monster lurks at the heart of many galaxies – even our own Milky Way. This monster possesses the mass…
An Extreme Simulation of the Universe’s First Stars
An international team of astronomers has conducted an extreme simulation that modeled what the formation of the first stars looked…
The Youngest Stellar Disk Ever Seen, Just 500,000 Years Old
Unless you’re reading this in an aircraft or the International Space Station, then you’re currently residing on the surface of…
There’s No Chemical Difference Between Stars With or Without Planets
Strange New Worlds Imagine if a star could tell you it had planets. That would be really helpful because finding…