Every so often, a mysterious so-called “guest star” appears in the sky, often far outstripping its cousins in brightness. Astronomers and stargazers have known about such events since at least 185 AD and possibly for thousands of years before; in 1054, Chinese astronomers marked the appearance of a “guest star” …
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For the first time in human history, scientists have watched a core-collapse supernova from beginning to end, in real time. The progenitor star was a red supergiant of about ten solar masses, some 120 million light-years away. In its final months, the dying star’s brightness flared dramatically as it cast …
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The Hubble Space Telescope has provided some amazing views of the universe. It’s easy to become complacent after seeing so many remarkable images, but Hubble can still wow us after 30 years. In a recent observation, the aging space telescope captured the expanding edge of a supernova blast wave. …
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A Partial Supernova Flung This White Dwarf Across the Milky Way Image credit: Sephirohq (CC BY SA 3.0) Supernovas, by their nature, often don’t leave a lot of star behind for astronomers to later peruse. Many of these titanic explosions result in the formation of a black hole or a …
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Astronomers Find Evidence of Supernova Just 600 Light-Years from Earth Astronomers have found many awe-inspiring objects in the cosmos, but a pair of astronomers 20 years ago found something just plain confusing. They spotted a straight line of ionized gas in the direction of Ursa Major, which was never really …
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