Collaborate Disseminate
The Super-Kamiokande neutrino observatory in Japan has received a relatively simple upgrade that should allow it to look further back in time. A rare-earth element called gadolinium has been added to the water in the huge underground facility, which wi… Continue reading Rare-earth element upgrade to help observatory detect ancient neutrinos
The universe may have started with a Big Bang, but it will most likely end in an utterly anticlimactic way, slowly fading to black over trillions and trillions of years. Now, a theoretical physicist at Illinois State University has calculated what migh… Continue reading Black dwarf supernovae might be the last event in the universe
A supernova may seem like a pretty final fate, but now astronomers have discovered a star that apparently survived this explosive process. It wasn’t without consequence, however – the star was kicked out of a tight binary orbit and flung across the gal… Continue reading Strange star somehow survives supernova, shoots off across galaxy
Remember all the hubbub over Betelgeuse back in February? For that matter, do you even remember February? If you do, you might recall that the red giant in Orion was steadily dimming, which some took as a portent of an impending supernova. That obviously didn’t happen, but we now seem …read more
A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy believe that unusually large, cool surface spots are the most likely explanation for the recent dimming of the red giant star Betelgeuse that raised fears it was going supernova.Continue … Continue reading Giant star spots likely to blame for Betelgeuse supernova scare
Supernovae are some of the most energetic events in the universe, and the resulting nebulas are a favorite for stargazers. To better understand the physics behind them, researchers at Georgia Tech have created a “supernova machine” in the lab.Continue … Continue reading “Supernova machine” recreates cosmic blasts in the lab
The universe is full of powerful explosions from various sources, and now astronomers have described a brand new class of space signals. Named fast blue optical transients (FBOTs), these events are very bright and throw off incredible amounts of energy… Continue reading “Cow” and “Koala” lead explosive new class of space signals
Astronomers have spotted the brightest and most energetic supernova ever recorded. The event, known as SN2016aps, may have been the result of two stars merging and then exploding, before the dust had completely settled.Continue ReadingCategory: Space, … Continue reading Astronomers spot the brightest and most energetic supernova on record
Talk about buried treasure: archeologists in Germany have – literally – unearthed a pristine Soviet spy radio, buried for decades outside of Cologne. While searching for artifacts from a Roman empire settlement, the archeologists found a pit containing the Soviet R-394KM transceiver, built in 1987 and apparently buried shortly thereafter …read more
In the pure white snow of Antarctica, scientists have found rare isotopes that don’t occur naturally on Earth. The isotope, known as iron-60, is usually forged in the crucible of supernova explosions, and the researchers believe it fell to Ea… Continue reading Interstellar isotopes found in Antarctica were forged from supernovae