Collaborate Disseminate
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are among the most intriguing cosmic mysteries of our time, and now we might be one step closer to an answer for what creates them. By examining multiple “radio colors” simultaneously in a batch of repeating signals, astronomer… Continue reading Multicolored radio rules out more suspects in fast radio burst mystery
Space is an exceptionally strange place, full of signals and observations that defy our understanding of the universe. In trying to explain these mysteries, sometimes astronomers hypothesize extremely exotic objects that we haven’t yet found. Here are … Continue reading Out of this world: Bizarre space-oddities that might just be for real
Supernovae usually appear suddenly in the sky, but now astronomers have spotted one in advance. The telltale sign is a star with a “teardrop” shape, as it gets stretched out by the gravitational pull of a companion.Continue ReadingCategory: Space, Scie… Continue reading Teardrop-shaped star is driving another to go supernova
A bizarre star may have its origins in one of the most energetic events in the cosmos. Astronomers have found that a star with a very unusual composition may have formed in the wake of a new type of hypernova – a stellar explosion with 10 times the ene… Continue reading Bizarre star may have been forged in a gigantic “hypernova”
Astronomers have discovered the smallest but most massive white dwarf ever found: the tiny star is only about the size of our Moon, but packs in more mass than the Sun. That means it’s approaching the theoretical limit of what’s possible without explod… Continue reading Smallest, densest white dwarf ever packs 1.3 Suns into the Moon
Detecting gravitational waves from collisions between two black holes or two neutron stars is becoming almost mundane, but now astronomers have detected the final piece of the trifecta – a black hole swallowing a neutron star. Two separate events rolle… Continue reading Gravitational wave trifecta completed as black holes eat neutron stars
Dark matter is considered the glue that holds galaxies together – but a few years ago, a team of astronomers claimed to have found a galaxy that didn’t have any. Other scientists later argued it was a calculation error, but now the original team has us… Continue reading The light galaxy at the heart of a dark dispute
Astronomers say they’ve closed the case on the mysterious and unprecedented dimming of the supergiant star Betelgeuse in 2019 and 2020. A new study says that the event was caused by a combination of a big dust cloud and a drop in temperature.Continue R… Continue reading Astronomers conclude Betelgeuse isn’t dying, it’s just dusty
Planets rotate, stars rotate, galaxies and galaxy clusters all rotate. But how far up the chain does this angular momentum go? Astronomers have now discovered evidence that some of the largest scale structures of the universe also rotate – mind-bogglin… Continue reading Massive cosmic corkscrews are largest spinning structures ever found
Planets rotate, stars rotate, galaxies and galaxy clusters all rotate. But how far up the chain does this angular momentum go? Astronomers have now discovered evidence that some of the largest scale structures of the universe also rotate – mind-bogglin… Continue reading Massive cosmic corkscrews are largest spinning structures ever found