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Astronomers believe they have found a rare, massive flare that erupted from an extremely magnetic dead star, or magnetar, that was bright enough to illuminate an entire galaxy. If true, the discovery would represent the first time gamma rays from a “recently deceased” neutron star erupting outside the Milky Way have been seen. The flare […]

Astronomers have, for the first time, detected stellar winds blowing from three main-sequence stars similar to the sun.  The observation helped determine the rates at which these stars lose mass via their stellar winds, finding these winds shrink about 67 times as fast as the sun loses mass via its own solar winds. The team […]

The universe’s most extreme stars just got a little bit more unexpected and mysterious.  Scientists were astounded when they witnessed a “dead” neutron star with one of the most powerful magnetic fields in the cosmos unexpectedly spring back to life. The reactivation of this highly magnetic neutron star or “magnetar” doesn’t conform to the current […]

Every new parent knows the cold anxiety that grips them when their baby sneezes for the first time. That’s when a litany of possible issues and ailments probably begin to irrationally race through your mind. Researchers now know baby stars also “sneeze,” but these infinitely more powerful post-natal sneezes launch gas, dust, and magnetic energy. In […]

Massive stars gain their magnetism by colliding and merging with other stars, according to evidence from a bizarre binary system surrounded by a dusty, element-rich nebula. Inside that bipolar nebula, which has the dual designation of NGC 6164/6165, is the star system HD 148937. Located some 3,800 light-years away, in the southern hemisphere constellation of […]

The more evolved a galaxy is, the more collectively chaotic the orbits of its many stars are, new research shows, answering a key detail about how galaxies age. Our sun orbits the center of the Milky Way galaxy once every 225 million years, at a velocity averaging 514,495 mph (828,000 kph). Astronomers call this a […]

In the year 1181, an extraordinarily bright supernova lit up the night sky like a firework for an incredible 185 consecutive days. Astronomers have since located its remnants within the constellation Cassiopeia and imaged it — appropriately, it looks like a giant firework. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory released this new composite image of SNR 1181 that combines […]

Some 90s trends have made very welcome comebacks; others, no one needs to see ever again. Unlike frosted tips, baggy Tie-Dye shirts, landline phones and pogs, however, which have (hopefully?) been consigned to the dustbin, binary stars are resurfacing as worthy of study. And not a moment too soon. In short, binary stars are vital […]

Scientists have discovered the gruesome secret behind the apparent youth of some of stars at the heart of the Milky Way — stars participating in a sort of cosmic demolition derby around our galaxy’s supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*. Like a cosmic version of 17th-century serial killer Elizabeth Bathory, who supposedly sought […]

In December 2023, the Hubble Space Telescope completed its largest program since launching in 1990. With this program, the telescope made observations of 500 individual stars over three years — and scientists are now ready to dive into this cosmic Easter egg of data. The comprehensive Hubble Telescope survey is called the Ultraviolet Legacy Library […]