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.
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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The universe is a slow-changing place. While it's mostly true that the heavens and the deep-sky objects in it will look largely the same across an average human lifetime, there are dramatic examples that defy this trend.
Astronomy
Sep 21, 2025
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An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a new pre-main-sequence eclipsing binary system. The newfound binary, designated MML 48, consists of two young low-mass stars. The finding will be published in ...
The sun will someday die. This will happen when it runs out of hydrogen fuel in its core and can no longer produce energy through nuclear fusion as it does now. The death of the sun is often thought of as the end of the solar ...
Astrobiology
Aug 28, 2025
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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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