Stellar Evolution
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…
The Discovery of a Hot Neptune that Shouldn’t Exist
1800 light-years away, an unlikely survivor orbits an aged star. This rare planet is called a hot Neptune, and it's…
JWST Sees Organic Molecules Swirling Around a Newborn Star
One of the most interesting questions we can ask is, "How did life form?". To answer it, scientists go back…
Some Elements Arrived on Earth by Surfing Supernova Shock Waves
When stars die, they spread the elements they've created in their cores out to space. But, other objects and processes…
Astronomers Spot Three Interacting Systems with Twin Discs
Using the SPHERE instrument on the ESO's Very Large Telescope, a team of astronomers observed how interaction between disks affects…
The Latest JWST Image Shows a Star in the Earliest Stage of Formation
What's the most exciting thing about the James Webb Space Telescope? The stunning images? The completion of its torturous path…
Hubble saw the Same Supernova at Three Different Times Thanks to Gravitational Lensing
As cosmic events go, supernova explosions epitomize the saying, "Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse." They're the…
It’s Tough to Find Evidence of Stars Eating Planets
Tragically sometimes stars engulf their own planets. While most stars are able to quickly cover up the evidence for their…
ESO Finds the Ghostly Image of a Dying Star
Astronomical images never cease to delight, and the European Southern Observatory's image of the Vela nebula is no exception. (more…)
Hubble Looks at Newly Forming Stars in a Stellar Nursery
When we look at images of star birth regions, they look both placid and active at the same time. That's…