The puzzle of the origin of elements in the universe

A rare nuclear reaction that occurs in red giants has been observed for the first time at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy. This result was achieved by the LUNA experiment, the world's only accelerator facility ...

Giant star spots likely cause of Betelgeuse dimming

Betelgeuse, the bright star in the constellation of Orion, has been fascinating astronomers in the recent months because of its unusually strong decline in brightness. Scientists have been discussing a number of scenarios ...

K2-39b: A planet that shouldn't be there at all

(Phys.org)—An international team of astronomers has reported the discovery of a new giant extrasolar planet orbiting a subgiant star so closely that it should be destroyed due to tidal interactions. However, against all ...

Star survives close call with a black hole

Astronomers may have discovered a new kind of survival story: a star that had a brush with a giant black hole and lived to tell the tale through exclamations of X-rays.

Donor star breathes life into zombie companion

ESA's Integral space observatory has witnessed a rare event: the moment that winds emitted by a swollen red giant star revived its slow-spinning companion, the core of a dead star, bringing it back to life in a flash of X-rays.

Four new giant planets detected around giant stars

(Phys.org)—An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of four new giant exoplanets orbiting stars much bigger than our sun. The newly detected alien worlds are enormous, with masses from 2.4 to 5.5 the mass ...

Extraterrestrial stone brings first supernova clues to Earth

New chemistry "forensics" indicate that the stone named Hypatia from the Egyptian desert could be the first tangible evidence found on Earth of a supernova type Ia explosion. These rare supernovas are some of the most energetic ...

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