astrophysics
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Mind-Bogglingly Detailed Image Of A Nearby Star Introduces An Unexpected Mystery
There are few downsides to new observations, but confusion might be one of them. New stellar images bring mysteries that will take more time and effort to understand. That’s offset by how freaking detailed scientists can start producing these pictures, and of course, scientists like hearing that there’s more work to do.
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Wild Theory Suggests Heavy Metals Came From Parasitic Black Holes
If you were to rank the wildest things in the universe, there are a few obvious contenders: Gamma rays, fast radio bursts and quasars, for example. But no list would be complete without black holes and the black hole’s less-dense cousins, the neutron star. These hyper-compressed things can do some mind-boggling warping to the shape…
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Don’t Get Too Excited About Alien Life On Tau Ceti
Mildly encouraging news for Earthlings hoping to escape the scorched ruins of our own planet: A team of astronomers has found evidence for four Earth-sized (ish) worlds orbiting tau Ceti, a Sun-like star located just 12 light years away. Two of these planets, the researchers say, might barely be on the edge of the habitable…
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Scientists Think They’ve Figured Out Where Bizarre Runaway Stars Are Coming From
The Sun and Proxima Centauri and most of the stars you’ve heard of orbit the centre of the Milky Way galaxy like children peacefully riding a carousel (with some weirdness caused by dark matter that we don’t need to get into). Now, imagine if a few toddlers were sprinting and shrieking across the peaceful scene.…