NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray spacecraft has observed a super-bright, supercharged supernova explosion powered up by the creation of a highly magnetic dead star, or magnetar.
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An international team studying data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope concludes the mission detected a rare, unusually luminous supernova. The researchers say it likely received its power-up from a supermagnetized neutron star born in the stellar collapse that triggered the explosion.
The Milky Way’s galactic bulge, the bulbous region that surrounds the galactic center, contains a dense collection of stars, planets, and other free-floating objects. This region has been studied for decades with numerous ground-based and space-based telescopes, including NASA’s Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. Soon, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be the […]
Astronomers have long known that neutron stars, the crushed cores left behind after massive stars explode, should be scattered throughout the Milky Way galaxy. However, most of them are effectively invisible. A new study published in Astronomy and Astrophysics suggests NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could spot them anyway. Using detailed simulations of […]
A new study suggests the Milky Way consumed an ancient dwarf galaxy billions of years ago, and its stellar remains may still be embedded within ours.
Astronomers call this “eruptive mass loss,” and it’s a stellar drama we’re still trying to fully grasp.
Astronomers have found the boundary of star formation in the Milky Way’s spiral disk — and it’s not as far out from the center of our galaxy as you might imagine.
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By peering deep inside Orion’s star-forming gas clouds, radio astronomers have been able to directly measure the masses of young binary stars, confirming that our theoretical models are on the right lines.
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A new study suggests that most “post-starburst galaxies” cease star formation because they run out of fuel. But that’s not the full story.
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NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope reveals widespread water ice in Cygnus X, showing how dust shields molecules in star-forming regions across the Milky Way.
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