Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific advances and more. When NASA scientists tracked the orbits of two space rocks that recently approached Earth, they made a surprising discovery: One of the asteroids has a small moon. Astronomers regularly track the orbits of asteroids to… Read More »
A binary system containing a massive star and possibly a black hole, together being a source of intense X-rays, has been shown to be a smaller-scale example of some of the brightest quasars on Earth. Universe. New findings from an international team used NASA‘S Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer spacecraft (IXPE), approximately 24,000 images of an… Read More »
Astronomers have obtained new information about the formation of planets around twin stars orbiting each other. Although we are familiar with planets orbiting a single central star (similar to the arrangement of our solar system), more than 50% of the stars in the universe are found in binary systems, meaning they have a companion star.… Read More »
Citizen scientists mining data collected by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) discovered a record-breaking world and gave it a memorable nickname to match: Percival, after the father of Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books. . But in more formal terms, the extrasolar planet or “exoplanet” is called TOI 4633 c.… Read More »
Massive stars gain their magnetism by colliding and merging with other stars, according to evidence from a strange binary system surrounded by a dusty, element-rich nebula. This bipolar nebula, which has the double designation NGC 6164/6165, contains the star system HD 148937. light years Far away in the southern constellation Norma, HD 148937 contains two… Read More »
Some 90s trends have made a very welcome comeback; Others no one needs to see again. But unlike the frosted tips, baggy Batik shirts, landline phones and pogs that have (hopefully?) been consigned to the trash can, binary stars are resurfacing as worth studying. And not too soon. In short, binary stars are vital in… Read More »