supernova
Earth’s Atmosphere is Our Best Defence Against Nearby Supernovae
Earth's protective atmosphere has sheltered life for billions of years, creating a haven where evolution produced complex lifeforms like us.…
The Nearby Star Clusters Come from Only Three Places
Many astronomy-interested people know of the Hyades and the Pleiades. They're star clusters in the Taurus constellation. They're two out…
Hundreds of Massive Stars Have Simply Disappeared
The lifecycle of a star is regularly articulated as formation taking place inside vast clouds of gas and dust and…
First Light from Einstein Probe: A Supernova Remnant
On 9 January 2024, the Einstein probe was launched, its mission to study the night sky in X-rays. The first…
The Brightest Gamma Ray Burst Ever Seen Came from a Collapsing Star
After a journey lasting about two billion years, photons from an extremely energetic gamma-ray burst (GRB) struck the sensors on…
This Supernova Lit Up the Sky in 1181. Here’s What it Looks Like Now
Historical astronomical records from China and Japan recorded a supernova explosion in the year 1181. It was in the constellation…
Finally, an Explanation for the “String of Pearls” in Supernova 1987A
Not long after the explosion of Supernova 1987a, astronomers were abuzz with predictions about how it might look in a…
This is a 1.3 Gigapixel Image of a Supernova Remnant
Stars more massive than the Sun blow themselves to pieces at the end of their life. Usually leaving behind either…
Finally! Webb Finds a Neutron Star from Supernova 1987A
I can remember seeing images of SN1987A as it developed back in 1987. It was the explosion of a star,…
Even if We Can’t See the First Stars, We Could Detect Their Impact on the First Galaxies
For a long time, our understanding of the Universe's first galaxies leaned heavily on theory. The light from that age…