The red supergiant star Betelgeuse, a bright star in the constellation of Orion, has been making headlines due to a recent drop in brightness. Is an explosion imminent? If it happens, will Earth be affected? Source: https://earthsky.org/space/betelgeuse-dimming-late-2019-early-2020-supernova…
Tag: supernovae
New evidence shows that the key assumption made in the discovery of dark energy is in error
The most direct and strongest evidence for the accelerating universe with dark energy is provided by the distance measurements using type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) for the galaxies at high redshift. This result is based on the assumption that the corrected luminosity of SN Ia through the empirical standardization would not evolve with redshift. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-01-evidence-key-assumption-discovery-dark.html…
An ancient star burst in the Milky Way’s center
New observations reveal that – about a billion years ago – the center of our Milky Way galaxy underwent a period of intense star formation, resulting in over 100,000 supernovae. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/milky-way-center-star-formation-burst-100000-supernova…
Astronomers find ‘missing’ neutron star after 32 years
Thirty-two years ago, Supernova 1987A erupted in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud. Astronomers using the ALMA radio telescope now say they’ve found the small, compact neutron star created in this mighty star explosion. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/astronomers-find-missing-neutron-star-sn1987a…
X-ray satellite XMM-Newton celebrates 20 years in space
Two decades ago, on Dec. 10, 1999, an Ariane 5 rocket climbed into the morning sky from Kourou, French Guiana. It carried into orbit the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton), the largest scientific spacecraft yet built by ESA (European Space Agency) and a pioneering satellite for studying the universe with different kinds of light. XMM-Newton has studied over half a million X-ray…
Hubble spots galaxy’s dramatic details
Hubble image of galaxy NGC 5468. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/hubble-spiral-galaxy-details-image…
Black holes formed from dark matter could be making dead stars explode
White dwarfs are burnt out stars that can explode into supernovae, and this process might be kicked off by a black hole made of dark matter in the heart of the star Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2226326-black-holes-formed-from-dark-matter-could-be-making-dead-stars-explode/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
TESS watched a black hole tear apart a star
TESS watched a black hole tear apart a star from start to finish, a cataclysmic phenomenon called a tidal disruption event. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/tess-captures-black-hole-shred-star-video…
TESS planet-hunter shows you the southern sky
Mosaic of the southern sky constructed from 208 images by NASA’s TESS spacecraft, taken during the mission’s first year of science operations. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/tess-panorama-southern-sky-video…
New study sheds light on conditions that trigger supernovae explosions (Update)
Understanding the thermonuclear explosion of Type Ia supernovae—powerful and luminous stellar explosions—is only possible through theoretical models, which previously were not able to account for the mechanism that detonated the explosion. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-10-mechanisms-big.html…