stars

Good vibrations of the stars

harminka — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 08:32:53 -0500

Did you know that the Sun is vibrating? It's very hard to see, but researchers who study the Sun can measure how strong those vibrations are. They can also tell how smooth the surface of the Sun is. But, until now, researchers have not been able to see any other stars in our solar system clearly enough to measure those kinds of things.

Unique Multi-wavelength Portrait of Star Birth

harminka — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:26:36 -0500

Telescopes on the ground and in space have teamed up to compose a colourful image that offers a fresh look at the history of the star-studded region NGC 346. This new, ethereal portrait, in which different wavelengths of light swirl together like watercolours, reveals new information about how stars form.

More star births than astronomers have calculated

harminka — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:11:46 -0500

The "birth rate" for stars is certainly not easy to determine. Distances in the universe are far too great for astronomers to be able to count all the newly formed celestial bodies with the aid of a telescope.

Powerful Nearby Supernova Caught By Web

harminka — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:08:21 -0500

One of the nearest supernovas in the last 25 years has been identified over a decade after it exploded. This result was made possible by combining data from the vast online archives from many of the world's premier telescopes.

Our star could be far from where it started in Milky Way

harminka — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:54:44 -0500

A long-standing scientific belief holds that stars tend to hang out in the same general part of a galaxy where they originally formed. Some astrophysicists have recently questioned whether that is true, and now new simulations show that, at least in galaxies similar to our own Milky Way, stars such as the sun can migrate great distances.

New computer simulations show how special the solar system is

harminka — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:44:13 -0500

Prevailing theoretical models attempting to explain the formation of the solar system have assumed it to be average in every way. Now a new study by Northwestern University astronomers, using recent data from the 300 exoplanets discovered orbiting other stars, turns that view on its head.

Dust and gas in the early universe

harminka — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:52:23 -0500

Researchers believe that our universe began with the Big Bang about 13 billion years ago, and that soon after that event, matter began to form as small dust grains and gases.

COROT finds exoplanet orbiting Sun-like star

harminka — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:10:58 -0500

A team of European scientists working with COROT have discovered an exoplanet orbiting a star slightly more massive than the Sun. After just 555 days in orbit, the mission has now observed more than 50 000 stars and is adding significantly to our knowledge of the fundamental workings of stars.

Watching a New Star Make Universe Dusty

harminka — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:58:45 -0500

Using ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer, and its remarkable acuity, astronomers were able for the first time to witness the appearance of a shell of dusty gas around a star that had just erupted, and follow its evolution for more than 100 days.

Newly Born Twin Stars Are Far From Identical

harminka — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:33:18 -0500

Two stars, each with the same mass and in orbit around each other, are twins that one would expect to be identical.

Trio of Super-Earths

harminka — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:36:43 -0500

A team of European astronomers announced a remarkable breakthrough in the field of extra-solar planets. Using the HARPS instrument at the ESO La Silla Observatory, they have found a triple system of super-Earths around the star HD 40307.

Scientists Find Giant Ring Encircling Exotic Dead Star

harminka — Thu, 29 May 2008 09:02:38 -0500

One of the most powerful eruptions in the universe might have spun an infrared ring around a rare and exotic star known as a magnetar, a highly magnetized neutron star and the remnant of a brilliant supernova explosion signaling the death throes of a massive star.