Astronomers studying how elements heavier than iron were produced in the early Milky Way have identified a distinct series of epochs of galaxy-wide chemical formation. This evolutionary timeline, ...

Black holes are among the most intriguing cosmic bodies, but we know little about their origins. The Pop III.1 model explains ...

Besides being a point of light, a star is a luminous, spherical mass of plasma, enough to hold itself together under its own gravity. On its own, though, gravitational rounding isn't enough. What ...

At just 25, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin applied quantum physics to a treasure trove of astronomical observations to show that stars are mostly hydrogen and helium.

Stellar size and class diversification originates from the initial mass of the molecular cloud from which stars form. The elemental composition of the molecular cloud, specifically the abundance of ...

For decades, astronomers have wondered what the very first stars in the universe were like. These stars formed new chemical elements, which enriched the universe and allowed the next generations of ...

Astronomers have witnessed a rare “extremely stripped supernova” that exposed the inner silicon layers of a dying star, confirming theories of stellar fusion and offering new insight into how ...

A far infrared image of the Small Magellanic Cloud as observed by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Herschel Space Observatory. Circles indicate the positions observed by the ALMA telescope, with the ...

A group of galaxies in our cosmic backyard has given astronomers clues about how stars form. A thorough survey using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has observed around 14 million stars in 69 ...

Luke Keller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

Galaxies pass gas—in the case of galaxy NGC 4383, so much so that its gas outflow is 20,000 light-years across and more massive than 50 million Suns. Yet even an outflow of this immensity was ...