Have we really just seen the birth of a black hole?

For almost half a century, scientists have subscribed to the theory that when a star comes to the end of its life-cycle, it will undergo a gravitational collapse. At this point, assuming enough mass is present, this collapse ...

Mysterious hot spots observed in a cool red supergiant

(Phys.org) —Astronomers have released a new image of the outer atmosphere of Betelgeuse – one of the nearest red supergiants to Earth – revealing the detailed structure of the matter being thrown off the star.

Did Betelgeuse consume a smaller star?

What's going on with Betelgeuse? In recent years it's generated a lot of headlines as its luminosity has shifted dramatically several times. The red supergiant brightened by almost 50% earlier this year, triggering speculation ...

The first evidence that a yellow supergiant became a supernova

A group of researchers led by Melina Bersten (Kavli IPMU) has presented evidence that the yellow supergiant (YSG) star found at the location of supernova SN 2011dh in the famous nearby galaxy M51 was indeed the SN progenitor, ...

The most complete portrait of a supernova ever

Accounts of supernovae—exploding stars—go back thousands of years, and while we know today these events create the building blocks of life itself, there are still unanswered questions about the conditions that cause a ...

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