NASA’s Fermi telescope may have finally uncovered the magnetic powerhouse behind the universe’s brightest supernovae. An international team of astronomers analyzing observations from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has found what appears to be the first convincing detection of gamma rays from a rare type of extraordinarily bright stellar explosion known as a superluminous supernova. [...]
A new method could improve cosmology research by analyzing supernovae together with the galaxies that host them. An international collaboration led by scientists at the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) has created a new approach that may sharpen what researchers can learn about how the Universe expands and what dark [...]
A massive star’s sudden transformation may signal an approaching supernova. One of the largest stars ever discovered has undergone a dramatic transformation, and scientists believe it may be nearing a violent end. New research led by Gonzalo Muñoz-Sanchez at the National Observatory of Athens, published in Nature Astronomy, finds that the enormous star WOH G64 [...]
Dr. Larry Lebofsky discusses a wide range of astronomy and space science news in his twice-a-month newsletter.
Astronomers studying a distant superluminous supernova uncovered a strange pattern hidden in its light: a rapidly accelerating “chirp.” For decades, astronomers have used distant supernova explosions as cosmic beacons to study fundamental physics and measure properties of the universe. While examining one such event, Joseph Farah, a fifth-year graduate student at UC Santa Barbara, noticed [...]
A new experiment using rare-isotope beams has provided new insight into the origin of proton-rich isotopes known as p-nuclei. Researchers have taken an important step toward solving one of astrophysics’ oldest isotope mysteries: where the rare proton-rich atomic species known as p-nuclei come from. The study was led by Artemis Tsantiri, who conducted the work [...]
Estudo revela que um magnetar, remanescente estelar, impulsiona a luminosidade extrema desses eventos cósmicos raros
A rare gravitationally lensed supernova could help astronomers determine how fast the universe is expanding and shed light on dark energy. Astronomers may be closer to understanding one of the greatest mysteries in cosmology: dark energy, the unknown force thought to be driving the accelerating expansion of the universe. Scientists estimate that dark energy accounts [...]
An extraordinarily rare, gravitationally lensed supernova may offer a powerful new way to measure the universe’s expansion rate. Astronomers have known for nearly a century that the universe is expanding. What remains uncertain is the exact speed of that expansion. The value, called the Hubble constant, is still fiercely debated and has even raised questions [...]
Es el caso más claro observado hasta ahora de una estrella que “se apaga sin estallar” y colapsa directamente en un agujero negro, un tipo de evento extremadamente raro que se conoce como “supernova fallida”.
Un equipo de astrónomos, liderado por Kishalay De, del Instituto Flatiron, documentó por primera vez con detalle cómo una estrella masiva en la galaxia de Andrómeda desaparece sin…