Collaborate Disseminate
White dwarf stars have mostly been thought to follow very specific “rules” – if they’re over a certain mass limit, they’ll explode in a supernova with a very predictable brightness and time. But now Caltech astronomers have found a strange tw… Continue reading Ancient white dwarf explosions seem to disobey long-established "rules"
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was built to search for new planets, but astronomers at Ohio State discovered that it could also observe supernovas created by exploding white dwarf stars. This development means we might soon have a better idea about why they explode, and what they leave behind in the process.
..
Continue Reading White dwarf supernova observation is a first for NASA’s TESS mission
Category: Space
Tags:
Continue reading White dwarf supernova observation is a first for NASA's TESS mission
The first polarized light from a gamma ray burst seven billion light years away is helping astronomers to gain a better understanding of collapsing stars and other high-energy phenomena. Originating from gamma-ray burst GRB 190114C in the con… Continue reading First detection of polarized radio waves from gamma ray burst sheds light on collapsing stars
A bombardment of cosmic rays from ancient supernovae may have triggered a series of events that encouraged early human ancestors to walk upright, according to a new study published in the Journal of Geology. The scientists behind the research believe that the cosmic explosion could have helped trigger a shift in Earth’s environment that forced humanity’s fore bearers to adapt.
..
Continue Reading Supernovae-induced lightning may have encouraged humanity’s ancestors to walk upright
Category: Science
Tags:
Last year astronomers witnessed an explosion like no other. Now astronomers are debating if what they witnessed was the exact moment a star became a black hole. Continue reading Astronomers May Have Seen a Star Turn Into a Black Hole for the First Time
An Astrobiology study proposes that an ancient supernova could have exposed Megalodon and other large ocean animals to deadly muon radiation. Continue reading Scientists Think an Exploding Star Helped Kill Off the Megalodon
“The universe is crazier than science fiction authors have dared to imagine.” Continue reading Exploding Star Smashes Into Its Non-Exploding Star Friend
Earth will one day be eaten by our sun. These planets might avoid that. Continue reading How Two-Sunned ‘Tatooine’ Planets Escape Being Crushed By Their Host Stars
The photograph is a composite of three images each taken a decade apart and shows the swirling center of the Crab Nebula in unprecedented detail. Continue reading Hubble Photographs the Crab Nebula’s Beating Heart