Stellar Evolution
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…
Two Stars Orbiting Each Other Every 51 Minutes. This Can’t End Well
We don't have to worry too much about our Sun. It can burn our skin, and it can emit potent…
Binary Stars Live Complicated Lives, Especially Near the End
We know what will happen to our Sun. It'll follow the same path other stars of its ilk follow. It'll…
Just 2,000 Years Ago, Betelgeuse Was Yellow, Not Red
Compared to the lifespan of stars, human lives are pretty short. Stars such as Betelgeuse (in Orion) live for millions…
Astronomers Find the Oldest Planetary Nebula
Planetary nebulae are short-lived "leftovers" of sun-like stars. Most of these "star ghosts" only last—at most—about 25,000 years. Usually, their…
In Wildly Different Environments, Stars End Up Roughly the Same
When you look at a region of the sky where stars are born, you see a cloud of gas and…
Thanks to Gaia we Know Exactly how and When the Sun Will die
Observations from the Gaia spacecraft gives us a detailed picture of how the Sun will live and die.
A Dormant Black Hole has Been Discovered Just Outside the Milky Way
What happens when a massive star dies? Conventional wisdom (and observational evidence) say that it can collapse to form a…
Red Supergiant Stars Bubble and Froth so Much That Their Position in the Sky Seems to Dance Around
Making a 3D map of our galaxy would be easier if some stars behaved long enough to get good distances…
Astronomers Caught Betelgeuse Just Before it Started Dimming and Might Have Seen a Pressure Wave Rippling Through its Atmosphere
A couple of years ago, Betelgeuse generated much interest when it started dimming. That caught the attention of astronomers worldwide,…