Massive stars as a research area encompasses the theoretical, observational, and computational study of stars with initial masses typically ≥8–10 solar masses, focusing on their formation, internal structure, evolution, feedback, and endpoints. This field investigates radiative and mechanical feedback on the interstellar medium, nucleosynthesis and chemical enrichment, stellar winds, rotation, binarity, and magnetic fields, as well as the progenitors of core-collapse supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and compact remnants. Research integrates multiwavelength observations, stellar evolution and hydrodynamic simulations, and population synthesis to constrain mass loss, convection, mixing processes, and the role of massive stars in galaxy evolution and cosmology.
Using data from the Japan–led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) observatory, astronomers have directly observed a giant star's outflow, called a stellar wind, being captured by its compact companion and providing ...
Astronomy
Sep 21, 2026
2
44
Of all the discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope, the multitude of Little Red Dots it has observed is among the most enigmatic. Now, simulations using the Japanese Supercomputer ATERUI III have explained the nature ...
Astronomy
Sep 17, 2026
0
228
A distant star has captured astronomers' attention over the past decade, teasing them with indications that it will soon explode as a supernova. But new research shows that something else entirely is behind the star's outbursts. ...
Astronomy
Sep 13, 2026
0
34
A new study finds that two early-universe objects thought to be faint quasars are actually extraordinarily luminous galaxies powered by bursts of star formation. James Webb Space Telescope observations of the galaxies, seen ...
For the first time since its dramatic dimming in 2020, a team of astronomers has observed the inner atmosphere of Betelgeuse using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). Led by Bill Dent at the University of Manchester, ...
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified one of the most distant exploding stars ever confirmed. The supernova, SN 2023aeaf, was found at a redshift of 3.195—so far away that its light has been traveling ...
Astronomers have discovered a chemically rich collection of sulfur-bearing molecules surrounding the rare massive star HD 87643. The observations include the first detection of sulfur monoxide and sulfur dioxide around a ...
A popular myth about black holes is that they act like giant cosmic vacuum cleaners, sucking in everything around them. But Wladimir Lyra's research found a new mechanism around supermassive black holes that is more like ...
Astronomy
Aug 13, 2026
0
56
More than 70% of massive stars are born in close binary systems, where gravitational tugs and mass transfer between companions dramatically alter their evolution. Yet once the interaction ends—whether through mass transfer, ...
Astronomy
Aug 12, 2026
0
11
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey V (SDSS-V) has announced its 20th public data release (DR20), delivering a dramatic expansion of the Milky Way Mapper (MWM) scientific survey—the most detailed spectroscopic map yet assembled ...
Astronomy
Aug 6, 2026
0
62
