(Phys.org) —The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has found signs of Earth-like planets in an unlikely place: the atmospheres of a pair of burnt-out stars in a nearby star cluster. The white dwarf stars are being polluted ...
Astronomy
May 9, 2013
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(Phys.org) —Because it has no source of energy, a dead star—known as a white dwarf—will eventually cool down and fade away. But circumstantial evidence suggests that white dwarfs can still support habitable planets, ...
Astronomy
Apr 24, 2013
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(Phys.org) —NASA's Kepler space telescope has witnessed the effects of a dead star bending the light of its companion star. The findings are among the first detections of this phenomenon—a result of Einstein's theory ...
Astronomy
Apr 4, 2013
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(Phys.org)—Globular clusters are vast, spherical clouds of old stars bound together by gravity. They are found circling the cores of galaxies, as satellites orbit the Earth. These star clumps contain very little dust and ...
Astronomy
Jan 10, 2013
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(Phys.org)—Astronomers find planets in strange places and wonder if they might support life. One such place would be in orbit around a white or brown dwarf. While neither is a star like the sun, both glow and so could be ...
Astronomy
Nov 20, 2012
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(Phys.org)—A study using a unique new instrument on the world's largest optical telescope has revealed the likely origins of especially bright supernovae that astronomers use as easy-to-spot "mile markers" to measure the ...
Astronomy
Nov 19, 2012
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J. Craig Wheeler has studied the exploding stars called supernovae for more than four decades. Now he has a new idea on the identity of the "parents" of one of the most important types of supernovae—the Type Ia, those used ...
Astronomy
Oct 26, 2012
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Scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the University of Leicester have been commissioned by the European Space Agency (ESA) to investigate the feasibility of using dead stars to navigate spacecraft in deep ...
Space Exploration
Oct 9, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- Unfortunately, stars don't have birth certificates. So, astronomers have a tough time figuring out their ages. Knowing a star's age is critical for understanding how our Milky Way galaxy built itself up over ...
Astronomy
May 30, 2012
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The exploding stars known as Type Ia supernovae serve an important role in measuring the universe, and were used to discover the existence of dark energy. They're bright enough to see across large distances, and similar enough ...
Astronomy
May 7, 2012
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