White dwarfs are the stars that will be left behind when stars like the Sun “die” and smolder in space as cooling stellar embers. Recent observations have shown that some of these stellar corpses may take longer to cool than previously expected. This means that white dwarfs may have a way to produce energy after… Read More »
Astronomers may have solved the mystery of why the death shrouds of dead stars appear to lack sulfur, an element once known as “brimstone” and associated with the Biblical phrase “fire and brimstone.” According to theory, significant amounts of sulfur should be present in stellar debris fields throughout the universe. So where did the sulfur… Read More »
Illustration of a neutron star with bursts of ejected matter. Scientists have finally been able to understand the dynamics of neutron star “glitches” that occur when these extremely dense dead stars suddenly accelerate their spin. It appears that the strange behavior may occur when tiny eddies of swirling internal material “break the surface” of these… Read More »