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.
A recent Physical Review Letters study presents a new model for quark star merger ejecta that could resolve whether these cosmic collisions generate ordinary matter or something different.
Star formation is a fundamental physical process in our universe. Stars light up the cosmos, and give rise to planets, some of which may support life. While humans have no doubt wondered about stars since prehistoric times, ...
Astronomy
Sep 26, 2025
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Stress is a very real factor in the structure of our universe. Not the kind of stress that students experience when taking a test, but rather the physical stresses that affect everyday objects. Consider the stress that heavy ...
General Physics
Sep 9, 2025
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Within our Milky Way galaxy, in the direction of the constellation Vulpecula, a cosmic "lighthouse" named PSR B1937+21 spins at an astonishing rate of 642 revolutions per second. It emits electromagnetic pulses that rival ...
Astronomy
Sep 8, 2025
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Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have made the highest resolution image to date, revealing new insights into the unusual and mysterious architecture of the debris disk encircling Fomalhaut, ...
Astronomy
Sep 5, 2025
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250
Stars have layers like onions, according to theory. The layers are made of different elements, progressing from light to heavy the deeper the layers are. While the theory is strong, observing the inner layers of a star has ...
Astronomy
Aug 27, 2025
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Stars die and vanish from sight all the time, but astronomers were puzzled when one that had been stable for more than a decade almost disappeared for eight months.
Astronomy
Aug 22, 2025
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The size of our universe and the bodies within it is incomprehensible to us lowly humans. The sun has a mass that is more than 330,000 times that of our Earth, and yet there are stars in the universe that completely dwarf ...
Astronomy
Aug 20, 2025
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Pictures are the key to new insights in the field of astrophysics. Such images include simulations of cosmic events, which astrophysicists at UZH use to investigate how stars, planets and galaxies came into existence.
Astronomy
Aug 20, 2025
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97
For the first time, scientists have directly tracked the slow transformation of a dying star over more than a century—revealing it is heating up faster than any other typical star ever observed.
Astronomy
Aug 20, 2025
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