Stars

The Hubble and FU Orionis: a New Look at an Old Mystery

In 1936 astronomers watched as FU Orionis, a dim star in the Orion constellation, brightened dramatically. The star's brightness increased…

3 weeks ago

The First Close-Up Picture of Star Outside the Milky Way

Like a performer preparing for their big finale, a distant star is shedding its outer layers and preparing to explode…

3 weeks ago

Main Sequence and White Dwarf Binaries are Hiding in Plain Sight

Some binary stars are unusual. They contain a main sequence star like our Sun, while the other is a "dead"…

3 weeks ago

Up to a Third of Stars Ate Some of their Planets

In recent years, astronomers have developed techniques to measure the metal content of stars with extreme accuracy. With that capability,…

4 weeks ago

Habitable Worlds are Found in Safe Places

When we think of exoplanets that may be able to support life, we hone in on the habitable zone. A…

1 month ago

TESS Finds a Triple Star System that Could Fit within Mercury’s Orbit

TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has been on the lookout for alien worlds since 2018. It has just hit…

2 months ago

Plants Would Still Grow Well Under Alien Skies

Photosynthesis changed Earth in powerful ways. When photosynthetic organisms appeared, it led to the Great Oxygenation Event. That allowed multicellular…

3 months ago

A Star Was Kicked Out of a Globular Cluster by an Intermediate-Mass Black Hole

Astronomers have solid evidence for the existence of stellar-mass black holes and supermassive black holes. However, evidence for Intermediate Black…

3 months ago

High Resolution Images Show Bubbling Gas on the Surface of Another Star

Although stars are enormous, they're extremely far away, and appear as point sources in telescopes. Usually, you never get to…

3 months ago

Polaris, Earth’s North Star, Has A Surprisingly Spotted Surface

Humanity's been fortunate to have a star situated over Earth's north pole. The star, known as Polaris, or the North…

4 months ago