Some Asshole Star Just Ripped Apart Halley's Comet's Brother
Here’s your daily reminder that the final frontier is ruthless: For the first time ever, scientists have spotted a…
This Image May Suggest The Destructive Powers Of A White Dwarf Star
This stunning Chandra image of ngc6388 suggests that “a white dwarf star may have ripped apart a planet as it came too…
Now We Know What Makes White Dwarf Stars Go Supernova
What makes a dead star explode? Scientists have long suspected a mechanism for making a white dwarf go supernova, but…
A white dwarf just exploded, creating the closest supernova in 25 years
A white dwarf exploded last night up in the Cigar Galaxy (also known as M82 to its friends), creating the closest…
One of the best places to search for alien life is the last that you'd expect
In death, it has been said, there is often life. And while it may sound counterintuitive, this old saw may hold…
Is this the way the world ends?
Stars are born, stars age, and stars die. But they don't all die quietly. Astronomers have recently discovered evidence…
The Helix Nebula reveals the breathtaking birth of a white dwarf
This absolutely gorgeous image from the European Southern Observatory reveals a planetary nebula, the short-lived…
Stare into the eerie heart of the Little Ghost Nebula...if you dare!
What is this strange astronomical formation? A more fanciful interpretation is that it's a vast cosmic eye, but then…
NASA solves an 1,800 year old supernova mystery
In 185 CE, Chinese astronomers reported the presence of an incredibly bright "guest star" that appeared suddenly in the…
Tiny failed star is the coldest object we've ever photographed
Imagine a hot summer day in the middle of the desert. That temperature might be dangerously hot here on Earth, but it's…
Thousands of white dwarf stars could theoretically explode at any moment
The whole point of white dwarfs is that they're the remains of stars not big enough to go supernova. Or so we thought.…
Seeing a Supernova Could Be the Best Part of Labor Day Weekend
After all the boozing and barbecuing on America day off from labor, take a sec to look up. What you'll hopefully see…
The cosmic ring created by a dying star
This tiny white dwarf and the shell of gas that surrounds it was once a star very much like our Sun, and the gas is…
The collision that created Earth's Moon is reenacted around an alien star
NLTT 43806 is a white dwarf, the dying remnants of a star like our own. But there's a problem. Its composition doesn't…
Feuding white dwarf stars have been destroying each other for millions of years
Over a thousand light-years from Earth, there are two white dwarfs, the ghostly remnants of stars much like our Sun.…
Colliding white dwarfs give each other a new lease on life
White dwarfs are the ultra-dense husks of stars like our own, dying remnants that are just a pale shadow of their…
Could dying white dwarf stars be home to habitable planets?
In the search for Earth-like worlds, astronomers look for conditions that are roughly the same as those on our planet.…
The evil eye in space signifies a star's death
It's the final hours for the Hourglass Nebula, as the central star runs out of nuclear fuel and becomes a white dwarf.…
White dwarf nova explosion emits "shocking" burst of gamma rays
Novas are explosions on the surface of white dwarf stars. They're the little siblings of supernovas, lasting mere days…
What Separates The Novas From The White Dwarves?
The Chandrasekhar Limit lets astronomers know which stars will end with a bang, and which stars will end with a whimper.