Stars

Phosphorus is a key ingredient for life as we know it, but it’s strangely uncommon in the cosmos. Now astronomers have discovered a new type of star that’s very rich in phosphorus, which could imply that alien life is more common than we thought.

We may be a step closer to understanding the mystery of fast radio bursts (FRBs), as astronomers have now detected the first such signal from within our own galaxy. It was traced to a magnetar, which could be key to unlocking the origins of FRBs.

Although astronomers have detected over 4,000 planets outside our solar system, most of them appear as points of data. Now, astronomers have captured a very rare sight, with an image of two exoplanets orbiting a star very much like our own.

A 20-year study of the sky has allowed astronomers to produce a comprehensive 3D map of the universe. A new analysis of this map has highlighted a mismatch in the Hubble Constant, and revealed when the expansion of the universe began to accelerate.

An ESA/NASA spacecraft has captured the closest pictures of the Sun ever taken. The images reveal that our star is covered in relatively tiny flare-like explosions that scientists have dubbed "campfires."

A supernova may seem like a pretty final fate, but now astronomers have discovered a star that apparently survived this explosive process. It wasn’t without consequence, however – the star was kicked out of a binary orbit and flung across the galaxy.

Astronomers are celebrating the 4th of July weekend by releasing a new image of some cosmic fireworks. The spectacular shot is made up of a mosaic of radio and infrared images, showing a cluster of young stars exploding into life.

A star that shined with 2.5 million times the light of our Sun has disappeared from the night sky. It is possible that the star collapsed into a black hole without first triggering a supernova – a rare event, even in the context of dying stars.

The night sky is a beautiful canvas for photography, and the Milky Way is the star (pun intended) of the show. The latest edition of the annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year features absolutely stunning shots of our home galaxy and planet.

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking sight in the Serpens Nebula – a huge shadow in the shape of a bat. Now, follow-up observations have shown that it appears to be flapping its wings, which may be the influence of a nearby planet.

NASA has released a time-lapse video of our Sun that condenses 10 full years of solar observations into a 61 minute movie. The shots were taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, which has been keeping vigil over our parent star for a decade.

The LIGO-Virgo collaboration has reported a very strange gravitational wave signal. This signal appears to have come from a black hole swallowing some unknown object, with a mass that sits in a range thought to be empty.