Detailed images of the birth of cosmic dust were captured for the first time. A star that is about to die after a supernova explosion expels materials like cosmic dust into space, which will be the raw materials for planets and other life. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

A cosmic explosion that seems to have come out of nowhere—thousands of light-years from the nearest collection of stars—has left astronomers baffled. The blast, one of the brightest this year, was detected by spacecraft from the Inter-Planetary Network on Jan. 25 and satellites were used to pinpoint its location to a region of the sky in the constellation Gemini. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Using the powerful one-two combo of NASA’s Swift satellite and the Gemini Observatory, astronomers have detected a mysterious type of cosmic explosion farther back in time than ever before. The explosion, known as a short gamma-ray burst (GRB), took place 7.4 billion years ago, more than halfway back to the Big Bang. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

ESA’s Integral has made the first unambiguous discovery of high-energy X-rays coming from a rare massive star at our cosmic doorstep, Eta Carinae. It is one of the most violent places in the galaxy, producing vast winds of electrically-charged particles colliding at speeds of thousands of kilometres per second. VIDEO included. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Astronomers have discovered the most distant object in the universe -- a spectacular stellar explosion known as a gamma-ray burst located about 13 billion light years away. picked by AutumnLotus 6 months ago

The date of 2008.03.19 marked the brightest ever cosmic explosion observed from the Earth. The outburst denoted as GRB 080319B was probably the death of a massive star leading to the creation of a black hole. Watch video here. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Astronomers recently captured a supernova's blinding flash "echoing" off dust 400 light-years from the detonation site in the Large Magellanic Cloud — which means Earthly observers may have seen the original blast 400 years ago. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

A tiny star recently unleashed what is considered the brightest burst of light ever seen in the universe from a normal star. Shining with only 1 percent of the sun's light and boasting just a third of the sun's mass, this run-of-the-mill star previously was nothing to write home about. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Once upon a time, time was different. Supernova explosions in the early universe appear to age more slowly than today's supernovae, as if time itself was running slower back then, according to a recent series of astronomical observations. This cosmic time warp is exactly what should be produced by the expansion of the universe, confirming conventional big bang theory. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

The explosion of a star halfway across the universe was so huge it set a record for the most distant object that could be seen on Earth by the naked eye. picked by dollyllama 2 years ago

Star Explosion in it's beauty picked by niceplime 3 years ago

When the world's most powerful laser facility flicks the switch on its first full-scale experiments later this month, a tiny star will be born on Earth. picked by AutumnLotus 6 months ago

Faint, fleeting blue flashes of radiation emitted by particles that travel faster than the speed of light through the atmosphere may help scientists solve one of the oldest mysteries in astrophysics - the origin of cosmic rays—subatomic particles of matter that stream in from outer space. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Astronomers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research have discovered mysterious pulses that are being emitted by an extremely magnetic star. The magnetic star, a magnetar, emits the pulses as very high energy X-rays. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

This Chandra X-ray Observatory image shows the debris of a massive star explosion in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small galaxy about 160,000 light years from Earth. The supernova remnant (SNR) shown here, N132D, is the brightest in the Magellanic clouds, and belongs to a rare class of oxygen-rich remnants. Most of the oxygen that we breathe on Earth is thought to have come from explosions similar... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

About 140 years ago, our time, a stellar explosion lit up our galaxy with a blinding flash of light, sending out powerful shock waves to boot. Now, astronomers have spotted the youthful remains from the explosion. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Astronomers are now able to predict when a certain type of star will let loose a powerful eruption. The explosions occur on a neutron star, a city-sized remnant of a giant star that exploded in a supernova long ago and collapsed into a hyperdense ember. It now siphons material from a companion star while the two objects orbit each other every 3.8 hours. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Some of the most massive stars might not explode as supernovae, a new study suggests. Rather, researchers speculate, they simply collapse into black holes or if they do generate explosions, they're not as intense as the deaths of less massive stars. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

An explosive star within our galaxy is showing signs of an impending eruption, at least in a cosmic time frame, and has for quite some time. From 1838 to 1858, the star called Eta Carinae brightened to rival the light of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, and then faded to a dim star. Since 1940 it has been brightening again, and scientists think Eta Carinae will detonate in 10,000 to 20,000 y... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

While humans are still struggling to get rid of unwanted carbon it appears that the heavens are really rather good at it. New research by astrophysicists at the University of Warwick has discovered that a mystery stellar explosion recorded in 2006 may have marked the unusual death of an equally unusually carbon-rich star. picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago