Stellar evolution as a research area investigates the physical processes governing the formation, structural changes, and end states of stars across cosmic time, using stellar structure theory, nuclear astrophysics, hydrodynamics, and radiative transfer. It encompasses modeling of protostellar collapse, main-sequence hydrogen burning, post–main-sequence shell burning, and advanced nucleosynthesis up to core collapse or thermonuclear disruption, as well as mass loss, rotation, magnetic fields, and binary interactions. The field integrates observations (e.g., HR diagrams, asteroseismology, stellar populations) with numerical simulations to constrain stellar lifetimes, remnant formation (white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes), and the chemical and energetic feedback of stars into galaxies.
Visible to the naked eye in the constellation Cassiopeia, the star γ Cas has puzzled astrophysicists for half a century. It emits X-rays of an intensity and temperature incompatible with what one would expect from an ordinary ...
Astronomy
Mar 24, 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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Astronomers have for the first time seen the birth of a magnetar—a highly magnetized, spinning neutron star—and confirmed that it's the power source behind some of the brightest exploding stars in the cosmos. The finding ...
Astronomy
Mar 11, 2026
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Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have conducted the most detailed simulation of the interior of stars and disproved a theory scientists have believed for 45 years: that stars switch their rotation patterns as they ...
Astronomy
Mar 6, 2026
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When most people think of a supernova, they're thinking of a Type II core-collapse supernova. These are massive stars that have reached the end of their time on the main sequence. They've used up their supply of hydrogen ...
Astronomy
Mar 5, 2026
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Astronomers have reported observations of a rare star system consisting of one star orbiting a system of three more tightly bound stars. This quadruple star system is described in a new study, published in Nature Communications, ...
Two heads are better than one in the latest images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which reveal new detail in a mysterious, little-studied nebula surrounding a dying star. Nebula PMR 1 is a cloud of gas and dust that ...
Astronomy
Feb 25, 2026
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One of the largest known stars in the universe underwent a dramatic transformation in 2014, new research shows, and may be preparing to explode. A study led by Gonzalo Muñoz-Sanchez at the National Observatory of Athens, ...
Astronomy
Feb 24, 2026
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Advances in supercomputing have made solving a long‐standing astronomical conundrum possible: How can we explain the changes in the chemical composition at the surface of red giant stars as they evolve?
Astronomy
Feb 20, 2026
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