After Centuries of Research, Betelgeuse Turns Out to Be Two Stars, Not One
Artistic impression of Betelgeuse and its candidate companion, Betelgeuse B. The smaller blue-white star has been enlarged for…
Aerosols and hydrocarbons in the atmosphere of a white dwarf planet
Data reduction Our PRISM observation used 33 groups across 240 integrations, with each integration lasting 29.8 s, for a…
Periodic radio and X-ray emission from an accreting white dwarf binary
Hotan, A. W. et al. Australian square kilometre array pathfinder: I. System description. Publ. Astron. Soc. Aust. 38,…
Scientists Discover Two Strange Dead Stars That Defy Astronomical Expectations
Two exotic white dwarf merger remnants have been found to share a striking set of unusual properties, including…
Gravitational-wave constraints on the pair-instability mass gap and nuclear burning in massive stars
Gravitational-wave observations of binary black holes have opened a new window onto massive-star evolution1,2,3,4,5, but population inferences remain…
NASA’s TESS Spacecraft Triples Size of Pleiades Star Cluster
Astronomers have revolutionized our understanding of a collection of stars in the northern sky called the Pleiades. They…
Betelgeuse’s Newfound Companion Star Keeps Breaking Astronomy Rules
A couple months back, astronomers officially confirmed the existence of “Betelbuddy,” Betelgeuse’s long-suspected companion star. Since then, researchers…
Primeval Star May Be the Most ‘Pristine’ Object Ever Discovered in the Universe
Stars are the original nuclear fusion reactors. As it evolves, a star continuously fuses hydrogen, helium, and—if it…
“Like Nothing Anyone Has Ever Seen Before” – Bizarre Supernova Stuns Scientists
For the first time, astronomers have seen the inner layers of a star revealed in its final moments.…
Could Alien Worlds Thrive Around Dead Stars?
White dwarf stars, like this one shown shrouded by a planetary nebula, are much smaller than stars like…
Astronomers Spot Companion Star in Orbit Around Iconic Star Betelgeuse, Confirming Suspicions
In 2024, astronomers surmised that Betelgeuse might have a stellar “buddy.” If this hypothetical companion existed, it would…