Are stellar explosions created equal?

Cosmic distances are difficult to grasp and no less difficult to measure. When it comes to other galaxies or even remote parts of our own Milky Way, distance measurements are nothing but assessments, derived from indirect ...

'Zombie' stars key to measuring dark energy

"Zombie" stars that explode like bombs as they die, only to revive by sucking matter out of other stars. According to an astrophysicist at UC Santa Barbara, this isn't the plot for the latest 3D blockbuster movie. Instead, ...

Feuding helium dwarfs exposed by eclipse

Researchers at the University of Warwick have found a unique feuding double white dwarf star system where each star appears to have been stripped down to just its helium.

Binary white dwarf stars

(PhysOrg.com) -- When a star like our sun gets to be very old, after another seven billion years or so, it will no longer be able to sustain burning its nuclear fuel.

Brown Dwarf Found Orbiting a Young Sun-Like Star

(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers have imaged a very young brown dwarf, or failed star, in a tight orbit around a young nearby sun-like star. The discovery is expected to shed light on the early stages of solar system formation.

Origin of Key Cosmic Explosions Still a Mystery

(PhysOrg.com) -- When a star explodes as a supernova, it shines so brightly that it can be seen from millions of light-years away. One particular supernova variety - Type Ia - brightens and dims so predictably that astronomers ...

Supernovae mystery solved

(PhysOrg.com) -- Supernovae are gigantic stellar explosions that can be seen across the entire universe. Type Ia supernovae are a relatively homogeneous class of stellar explosions, which researchers use as 'standard candles' ...

Measuring a Monstrous Supernova

A rare Type Ia supernova whose progenitor star had a mass some two and a half times that of our sun - much more mass than a Type Ia progenitor should be able to accumulate before it explodes - has led members of the Nearby ...

Getting WISE About Nemesis

Is our Sun part of a binary star system? An unseen companion star, nicknamed 'Nemesis,' may be sending comets towards Earth. If Nemesis exists, NASA's new WISE telescope should be able to spot it.

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