Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.
An illustration shows a massive star cannibalising a smaller star around the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky WayScientists have discovered the gruesome secret behind the apparent youth of some of stars at the heart of the Milky Way — stars participating in a sort of cosmic demolition derby around our galaxy's supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*.
The heart of the Milky Way is one of the most extreme environments that astronomers can observe from Earth. This region home to Sgr A*, which is not only a black hole with a mass equivalent to 4.5 million suns, but a cosmic monster that's orbited by over a million stars. Rose explained that, generally, a star's distance from Sgr A* is a good indication of whether it will collide with another star and what kind of collision that would be.
"They whack into each other and keep going. They just graze each other as though they are exchanging a very violent high-five," Rose said.
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Colliding neutron stars hint at new physics that could explain dark matterRobert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.
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