Scientists are still learning about a cosmic ‘string of pearls,’ a unique celestial relic left by a supernova witnessed by humanity around 850 years ago, which has a zombie star at its heart.
NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has ended its science mission now that the spacecraft is orbiting less than 171 miles (275 kilometers) above Earth’s surface. The greater atmospheric drag at this height prevents the satellite’s telescopes from steadily gazing at their astronomical targets. Swift conducted its final observation on Oct. 20. It is expected to […]
Using NASA’s SPHEREx spacecraft, astronomers have studied a horde of mysterious “failed stars,” or brown dwarfs, not-so-stellar loners that wander the darkness of space alone.
Imagine if the sun could take on a spooky green glow for Halloween. Scientists have discovered that our star may go green if it turns into a cosmic zombie after its death in billions of years.
Martian sands blown by strong winds left rippled ridges on the surface of the Red Planet, as seen in this new image from the Mars Express spacecraft.
Scientists have discovered that some of the universe’s most powerful explosions, hypernovas, may not happen at all.
Astronomers investigating mysterious flashes of X-rays believe that these blasts could hide collisions between neutron stars, the events that forge elements like gold, silver, and platinum.
First discovered in 2007, fast radio bursts are enigmatic, millisecond-long flashes of radio emission from the distant universe. Their origin remains uncertain, particularly since most are seen once and never again. Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have pinpointed the host galaxy of the most distant fast radio burst (FRB) seen to date. Their […]
Astronomers have observed a stellar vampire feeding on a ‘failed star’ brown dwarf companion for the first time, and this will be a slow and gruesome death.
Using data from the Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) observatory, astronomers have directly observed a giant star’s outflow, called a stellar wind, being captured by its compact companion and providing the power source for strong X-ray flares. The research is part of NASA’s exploration of the extreme universe to better understand how the […]