Stars, as physical systems, are self-gravitating, approximately hydrostatic spheres of plasma in which energy is generated predominantly by thermonuclear fusion in their cores and transported outward by radiation and/or convection. Their structure is governed by the equations of stellar structure, balancing gravity, gas and radiation pressure, and energy transport. Stellar properties such as mass, composition, and rotation determine their internal stratification, nucleosynthetic pathways, luminosity, temperature, and evolutionary tracks. Stars interact with their environments via radiation, stellar winds, and mass loss, and they serve as fundamental sites of element synthesis and key components of galactic and cosmological structure.
Astronomers who simulate galaxies do not always get the same result, even when they start from identical conditions. New research from Leiden University shows that this is not a flaw, but a consequence of how galaxies behave—and ...
Astronomy
May 11, 2026
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The Milky Way galaxy grew into its current form with the help of smaller galaxies over time, which it has "consumed" or merged with. Astronomers are able to pick out which stars in the Milky Way came from other galaxies by ...
Our sun is a roiling mass of energy, with solar flares exploding on its surface, sending gas, plasma, and light that blasts across the solar system. When radiation from extra-powerful flares breaks through Earth's outer protective ...
Astronomy
Apr 16, 2026
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Supermassive black holes are among the most enigmatic objects in the universe. They typically weigh millions or even billions of times the mass of the sun and sit at the centers of most large galaxies. At the heart of the ...
Astronomy
Apr 14, 2026
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An international team including the University of Bern (UNIBE) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), members of the National Center of Competence in Research PlanetS, has succeeded in mapping the climate of rocky exoplanets ...
Astrobiology
Apr 13, 2026
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An unusual team of astronomers used Sloan Digital Sky Survey-V (SDSS-V) data and observations on the Magellan telescopes at Carnegie Science's Las Campanas Observatory in Chile to discover the most pristine star in the known ...
Astronomy
Apr 3, 2026
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Researchers have uncovered new insights into the early development of baby stars. As published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, a research team from Kyushu University and Kagawa University reports that during the early ...
Astronomy
Apr 2, 2026
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As an astrophysicist, my world revolves around the wonders of space and the mysteries of the universe. This means I can be a tough critic of science fiction books and films that explore these topics.
Astronomy
Mar 19, 2026
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Thermonuclear reaction rates power the models that explain how stars live, explode and create the elements. A new study co-authored by NC State faculty member Richard Longland provides a comprehensive, statistically grounded ...
Astronomy
Mar 16, 2026
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Ever since physicist Freeman Dyson first proposed the concept in 1960, the "Dyson sphere" has been the holy grail of techno-signature hunters. A highly advanced civilization could build a "sphere" (or, in our more modern ...
Astronomy
Mar 7, 2026
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