Tag: stellar dynamics
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Do all stars exist in galaxies, or do some float in intergalactic space?
Do all stars live inside galaxies? The short answer is: most stars do. Stars form from gas clouds inside galaxies, where gravity, turbulence, and cooling gas create the necessary conditions for collapse and ignition of nuclear fusion. Once born, a star’s life is influenced by the environment around it. Galaxies provide the rich mix of…
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Star Split in Half Triggers Catastrophic Double Explosion, Scientists Say
Overview: A Rare Celestial Event or an Alarminglyhoax-like Claim? In a discovery that reads like science fiction, a team of astronomers says they have observed a star splitting in two before reuniting and unleashing a powerful, double explosion. While the claim is met with cautious skepticism within the scientific community, it has already sparked urgent…
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Leaning into the Extraordinary: A Lemon-Shaped Exoplanet Revealed by James Webb
Introduction: A Planet That Defies Expectations In the vastness of the cosmos, a new discovery from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has gripped the imagination of scientists and space enthusiasts alike: a planet that appears to be shaped like a lemon. This unusual, lemon-shaped exoplanet is not only remarkable for its form but also…
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Radio Observations Find Nothing at Omega Centauri’s Heart
A Giant Puzzle at the Heart of Omega Centauri Omega Centauri, the Milky Way’s most massive and luminous globular cluster, has long captivated astronomers. Containing roughly ten million stars packed into a relatively compact region, it offers a natural laboratory for studying stellar dynamics, black hole formation, and the evolution of ancient stellar systems. Earlier…
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AI Helps Build the Most Detailed Milky Way Simulation Ever, Mapping 100 Billion Stars
Revolutionizing Galactic Modeling with AI Researchers have unveiled the most detailed simulation of the Milky Way to date, a landmark achievement in computational astrophysics. By marrying machine learning with traditional numerical models, the project produces a digital galaxy that tracks the motion and evolution of roughly 100 billion stars. The breakthrough not only showcases the…
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Record-Breaking Forbidden Black Hole Collision Might Finally Have an Explanation
Overview: A record-breaking cosmic collision Astronomers have announced a breakthrough in explaining the universe’s most massive black hole merger to date. In what scientists are framing as a potential solution to a long-standing paradox, two black holes once deemed “forbidden” by prevailing theories appear to have formed and merged in a way that defies previous…
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Binary Stars Illuminate the Milky Way’s Past: A World-First Peek with the Rubin Observatory
Introduction: A New Window into the Galaxy’s History A breakthrough in the study of binary stars could mark a pivotal step toward a more complete picture of how our galaxy formed. Australian National University (ANU) researchers report a world-first discovery within globular clusters, using data from the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) —…
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Binary Stars Reveal New Clues in the Milky Way’s Ancient Clusters
A world-first glimpse into the outskirts of a globular cluster A landmark discovery from the Australian National University (ANU) points to a new way of understanding how our galaxy formed. By tapping into the Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), researchers detected binary stars—pairs that orbit a common center of gravity—in the…
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Binary Stars in 47 Tucanae: Rubin Observatory Advances
A New Window on Galactic History In a landmark stride for astronomy, researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) report a world-first discovery: binary stars tracing the outskirts of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. Though globular clusters have long fascinated scientists as some of the oldest stellar systems in the Milky Way, the ability to…
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Squashed Orbits Reveal Clues About Mysterious Black Hole Collision
New Clues About How Binary Black Holes Form In a landmark study, researchers are shedding light on the origins of a dramatic black hole merger detected by LIGO and Virgo, one of the few observations showing an unexpectedly squashed, or eccentric, orbital path just before the collision. The event, named GW200208_222617, offers a rare glimpse…