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Astrophysics

This picture is an artist's impression showing how the binary star system of Sirius A and its diminutive blue companion, Sirius B, might appear to an interstellar visitor. The large, bluish-white star Sirius A dominates the scene, while Sirius B is the small but very hot and blue white-dwarf star on the right. The two stars revolve around each other every 50 years. White dwarfs are the leftover remnants of stars similar to our Sun. The Sirius system, only 8.6 light-years from Earth, is the fifth closest stellar system known. Sirius B is faint because of its tiny size. Its diameter is only 7,500 miles (about 12 thousand kilometres), slightly smaller than the size of our Earth. The Sirius system is so close to Earth that most of the familiar constellations would have nearly the same appearance as in our own sky. In this rendition, we see in the background the three bright stars that make up the Summer Triangle: Altair, Deneb, and Vega. Altair is the white dot above Sirius A; Deneb is the dot to the upper right; and Vega lies below Sirius B. But there is one unfamiliar addition to the constellations: our own Sun is the second-magnitude star, shown as a small dot just below and to the right of Sirius A.

Astronomy

White Dwarf Stars: The Tiny Giants Revealing the Universe’s Secrets

July 25, 2023 - Updated on July 26, 2023

This composite image contains X-rays from Chandra (blue) and optical data from the VLT (gold) of the galaxy NGC 3115. Using the Chandra data, the flow of hot gas toward the supermassive black hole in the center of this galaxy has been imaged. This is the first time that clear evidence for such a flow has been observed in any black hole. The new Chandra data also supports the previous optical observations that suggest that NGC 3115's black hole has a mass of about two billion times that of the Sun. This would make NGC 3115 the host of the nearest billion-solar-mass black hole to Earth.

Astrophysics

What are lenticular galaxies?

January 30, 2023 - Updated on May 11, 2023

The Cow as imaged by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Astrophysics

Holy Cow! What is Causing Cosmic Explosions More Powerful Than Supernovas?

June 16, 2022 - Updated on May 13, 2023

An illustration of a supermassive black hole surrounded by an accretion disc (ESA)

Astrophysics

Black Hole Singularity: The Structure of a Black Hole

June 4, 2022 - Updated on July 25, 2023

Space

Neutron Stars: one of the most extreme objects we know

September 8, 2021 - Updated on October 11, 2023

Computer simulation of gravitational wave emissions S. Ossokine, A. Buonanno (Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics), Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes project, W. Benger (Airborne Hydro Mapping GmbH)

Astrophysics

What are Gravitational Waves?

May 28, 2021 - Updated on May 6, 2023

Astrophysics

What are Black Holes: The Journey From Theory to Reality

April 2, 2021 - Updated on May 6, 2023

Astrophysics

What are stars made of?

December 2, 2020 - Updated on July 25, 2023

The Sun photographed at 304 angstroms by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA 304) of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). This is a false-color image of the Sun observed in the extreme ultraviolet region of the spectrum. (NASA)

Astrophysics

Staring at the Sun: What is the lifecycle of a typical star

August 17, 2020 - Updated on May 6, 2023

Astrophysics

The types of stars — a hot, bright journey through the universe

June 23, 2020 - Updated on July 26, 2023

Astrophysics

What is the largest star in the known universe?

February 20, 2020 - Updated on May 6, 2023

Astrophysics

How big is the universe?

January 10, 2019 - Updated on May 5, 2023

Okay, one, two, three...
Image credits: Hubble.

Astrophysics

How many galaxies are there?

May 25, 2018 - Updated on May 4, 2023

Picture showing the shadow of a black hole found at the center of galaxy M87. Credit: EHT Collaboration.

Astrophysics

12 Physics-bending Facts about Black Holes

April 3, 2017 - Updated on June 11, 2023

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© 2007-2023 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.