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.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has zoomed into the Helix Nebula to give an up-close view of the possible eventual fate of our own sun and planetary system. In Webb's high-resolution look, the structure of the gas being ...
Astronomy
Jan 20, 2026
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Betelgeuse is the star that everybody can't wait to see blow up, preferably sooner rather than later. That's because it's a red supergiant on the verge of becoming a supernova and there hasn't been one explode this close ...
Astronomy
Jan 14, 2026
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What we know of the birth of a black hole has traditionally aligned with our perception of black holes themselves: dark, mysterious, and eerily quiet, despite their mass and influence. Stellar-mass black holes are born from ...
Astronomy
Jan 13, 2026
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Gas and dust flowing from stars can, under the right conditions, clash with a star's surroundings and create a shock wave. Now, astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) have imaged ...
Astronomy
Jan 12, 2026
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Using new observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories, astronomers have tracked the influence of a recently discovered companion star, Siwarha, on the gas around Betelgeuse. The research, ...
Astronomy
Jan 5, 2026
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Astronomers from the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy (IfA) have uncovered the turbulent past of a distant red giant by listening to its celestial "song." Subtle variations in the star's brightness suggest that ...
Astronomy
Nov 26, 2025
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Over the course of billions of years, the universe has steadily been evolving. Thanks to the expansion of the universe, we are able to "see" back in time to watch that evolution, almost from the beginning. But every once ...
Astronomy
Nov 20, 2025
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Close companions can influence stellar evolution in many ways. While some companions can be detected around young stellar objects, direct observational evidence of companions around asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars or ...
Astronomy
Nov 14, 2025
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A new study led by UNLV scientists sheds light on how planets, including Earth, formed in our galaxy—and why the life and death of nearby stars are an important piece of the puzzle.
Astronomy
Oct 17, 2025
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A Northwestern University-led team of astronomers has captured the most detailed glimpse yet of a doomed star before it exploded. Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the international team identified a supernova's ...
Astronomy
Oct 8, 2025
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