A star exploded into a supernova but it weirdly isn't very bright
3 February 2020
Astronomers have spotted a star that is exploding with a brightness 100 times less than expected – and it’s a mystery exactly why the explosion is so dim
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Premium
Found 465 results for dwarf planet
Are dark matter and dark energy related in anything apart from name?
1 January 2020
There is no law of physics dictating that dark matter and dark energy can’t be connected, and it is natural to wonder about it, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Pigeons and woolly hats now have exoplanets named after them
17 December 2019
More than 100 exoplanets and the stars they orbit have just been officially named by a public vote. The names reference woolly hats, bush pigeons, coffee and van Gogh
Black holes formed from dark matter could be making dead stars explode
6 December 2019
White dwarfs are burnt out stars that can explode into supernovae, and this process might be kicked off by a black hole made of dark matter in the heart of the star
We’ve discovered a planet orbiting an exploded star for the first time
4 December 2019
A giant planet almost as big as Jupiter has been found orbiting a white dwarf, which is the remnants of an exploded star
Star systems full of planetary smash-ups are bad news for alien life
12 November 2019
We've seen the remains of a collision between two planets in a distant star system - and these planetary smash-ups are thought to be surprisingly common
Surprisingly round asteroid may actually be the smallest dwarf planet
28 October 2019
The best ever image of the asteroid Hygiea has revealed its shape for the first time and it looks as if it is round enough to be a tiny dwarf planet like Pluto
The solar system has too many moons – it's time for a cull
23 October 2019
Designating rocks just a few kilometres across as moons is misleading and ridiculous. We need to do a Pluto and cut moons down to size, argues Leah Crane
Microbial life might drift in the atmospheres of failed stars
7 October 2019
Brown dwarfs are too large to be planets and too small to be stars, but they have gaseous atmospheres that may have all the ingredients needed for life
We could find alien life on exoplanets by looking for its glow
20 August 2019
Most of the closest exoplanets we’ve found orbit stars that can release flares of dangerous UV light, but those very flares might force life to evolve to glow
