Magnetic stars as a research area focuses on the origin, structure, and evolution of stellar magnetic fields and their impact on stellar physics. It encompasses observational and theoretical studies of magnetic field generation via dynamo action or fossil fields, field topology and strength across different spectral types, and magnetically induced phenomena such as starspots, flares, and coronal activity. The field also investigates magnetic braking, angular momentum loss, and interactions between stellar magnetism and circumstellar environments, including magnetospheres and stellar winds, with implications for stellar evolution, variability, and exoplanetary space weather.
Astronomers may have just confirmed one of the quirkiest aspects of quantum mechanics: that seemingly empty space can alter the behavior of light. This phenomenon, called "vacuum birefringence," was first predicted nearly ...
Astronomy
Aug 6, 2026
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From birth to death, stars generally slow by 100 to 1,000 times their initial rotation rates; in other words, they "spin down." The sun's total angular momentum has declined as material is gradually blown off at the surface ...
Astronomy
Apr 27, 2026
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40
Using the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), an international team of astronomers has performed radio observations of FRB 20220912A—a highly active source of repeating fast radio bursts. Results of the ...
For the first time, new theoretical models, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, connect the magnetism at the surface of long-dead stellar remnants (white dwarfs) with recent evidence of magnetism at the cores of their ...
Astronomy
Apr 14, 2026
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64
Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi have discovered new large-scale waves moving deep inside the sun, driven by magnetic fields far below the surface. These waves provide a window into parts of the sun that are otherwise inaccessible, ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 28, 2026
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25
Pulsars are ultra-dense, rapidly spinning, and highly magnetized remnants of dead stars. They act like cosmic lighthouses, sending out regular pulses of radio waves and sometimes gamma rays in beams that sweep across the ...
Astronomy
Mar 25, 2026
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129
In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, scientists have performed the first global simulations of monster shocks—some of the strongest shocks in the universe—revealing how these extreme events in magnetar magnetospheres ...
For the first time, scientists have used satellite data to create a 3D map of the sun's interior magnetic field, the fundamental driver of solar activity. The research, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, should ...
An international team, led by Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA) researcher Ângela Santos, has made the first measurement of the magnetic field of β Hydri, a nearby aged solar analog subgiant star. This result, ...
Astronomy
Jun 23, 2025
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66
What happens when the universe's most magnetic object shines with the power of 1000 suns in a matter of seconds? Thanks to NASA's IXPE (Imaging X‑ray Polarimetry Explorer), a mission in collaboration with ASI (Italian Space ...
Astronomy
Jun 5, 2025
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