Massive stars end their lives with energetic explosions known as supernovae. Stripped-envelope supernovae show weak or no traces of hydrogen in their ejecta, meaning that the star loses most or all of its hydrogen-rich outer layers before exploding. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-revealing-lonely-cassiopeia-famous-supernova.html…
Tag: supernovae
What are white dwarf stars?
White dwarfs are dead stars. A single white dwarf contains roughly the mass of our sun in a volume no bigger than our planet. Our sun will become a white dwarf someday. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/white-dwarfs-are-the-cores-of-dead-stars…
Search for ETs among 10 million stars comes up empty
Astronomers used a radio telescope in Australia to search for artificial radio signals among 10 million stars. The search came up empty. But, they say, that’s not bad news for those hoping to find intelligent extraterrestrials. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence-10-million-stars…
Ancient star explosions revealed in the deep sea
A mystery surrounding the space around our solar system is unfolding thanks to evidence of supernovae found in deep-sea sediments. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-08-ancient-star-explosions-revealed-deep.html…
The end of the universe may be marked by ‘black dwarf supernova’ explosions
A spectacular fireworks show will light up an otherwise pitch black universe. Source: https://www.livescience.com/black-dwarf-supernovae-end-universe.html
Born under the sign of Ophiuchus?
Born between November 29 and December 18? If so, the sun passes in front of Ophiuchus on your birthday. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/born-between-november-29-and-december-18-heres-your-constellation…
Exploding stars may have caused mass extinction on Earth, study shows
Imagine reading by the light of an exploded star, brighter than a full moon—it might be fun to think about, but this scene is the prelude to a disaster when the radiation devastates life as we know it. Killer cosmic rays from nearby supernovae could be the culprit behind at least one mass extinction event, researchers said, and finding certain radioactive…
Method proposed for more accurate determinations of neutron star radii
Neutron stars are the smallest and densest astrophysical objects with visible surfaces in the Universe. They form after gravitational collapses of the iron nuclei of massive (with masses about ten solar masses) stars at the end of their nuclear evolution. We can observe these collapses as supernovae explosions. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-08-method-accurate-neutron-star-radii.html…
Exoplanet-hunter TESS completes its primary mission
NASA’s 2nd planet-hunter, TESS, has spent 2 years surveying the sky for exoplanets orbiting distant stars. It has found over 2,000 exoplanets so far. TESS now moves into its extended mission phase. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/exoplanet-hunter-tess-completes-primary-mission…
How Will the Universe End? Scientists Say They May Have an Answer
sciencehabit shares a report from Science Magazine: In the unimaginably far future, cold stellar remnants known as black dwarfs will begin to explode in a spectacular series of supernovae, providing the final fireworks of all time. That’s the conclusion of a new study, which posits that the universe will experience one last hurrah before everything goes dark forever. The dramatic detonations…