A new kind of cosmic flash may reveal something never seen before: the birth of a black hole. When a massive star exhausts its fuel, it collapses under its own gravity and produces a black hole, an object so dense that not even light can escape its gravitational grip. According to a new [continue reading]
Astronomers have found evidence for a dying Sun-like star coming briefly back to life after casting its gassy shells out into space, mimicking the possible fate our own Solar System faces in a few billion years. The intricate pattern of planetary nebula Abell 30 is revealed in these images that combine optical Hubble Space [continue reading]
Each century, about two massive stars in our own galaxy explode, producing magnificent supernovae. These stellar explosions send fundamental, uncharged particles called neutrinos streaming our way and generate ripples called gravitational waves in the fabric of space-time. This image shows the inner regions of a collapsing, rapidly spinning massive star. The colors indicate entropy, [continue reading]
Astronomers at The University of Manchester believe they have found the answer to the mystery of a powerful ‘superwind’ which causes the death of stars. Artist’s impression of the dusty wind blown by a red giant star. Credit: Anna Mayall/University of Manchester. Writing in Nature, the team of researchers used new techniques which allowed [continue reading]