Space and astronomy news
Perhaps the greatest tool astronomers have is the ability to look backward in time. Since starlight takes time to reach us, astronomers can observe the history of the cosmos by capturing the light of distant galaxies. This is why observatories such as the James Webb Space Telescope are so useful. With it, we can study in detail how galaxies formed and evolved. We are now at the point where our observations allow us to confirm long-standing galactic models, as a recent study shows.
One model argues that it is the most massive stars. This makes sense because giant stars explode as supernovae when they die. They toss their enriched outer layers deep into space, allowing the material to mix within great molecular clouds from which new stars can form. But about 20 years ago, another model argued that smaller, more sunlike stars played a greater role.
Stars like the Sun don’t die in powerful explosions. Billions of years from now, the Sun will swell into a red giant star. In a desperate attempt to keep burning, the core of a sun-like star heats up significantly to fuse helium, and its diffuse outer layers swell. On the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, they are known as asymptotic giant branch stars. While each AGB star might toss less material into interstellar space, they are far more common than giant stars.
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James Webb Space Telescope spies 'inside-out' star formation in ancient galaxy (image)Conor Feehly is a New Zealand-based science writer. He has earned a master's in science communication from the University of Otago, Dunedin. His writing has appeared in Cosmos Magazine, Discover Magazine and ScienceAlert.
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Ancient supermassive black hole is blowing galaxy-killing wind, James Webb Space Telescope findsRobert 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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In odd galaxy, NASA's Webb finds potential missing link to first starsLooking deep into the early universe with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have found something unprecedented: a galaxy with an odd light signature, which they attribute to its gas outshining its stars.
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James Webb telescope discovers 'inside out galaxy' near the dawn of timeBen Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, among other topics like tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist.
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NASA's Webb telescope detects the first potential brown dwarfs outside our galaxyMariella Moon has been a night editor for Engadget since 2013, covering everything from consumer technology and video games to strange little robots that could operate on the human body from the inside one day. She has a special affinity for space, its technologies and its mysteries, though, and has interviewed astronauts for Engadget.
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Webb Finds Dozens of Supernovae Remnants in the Triangulum GalaxySpace and astronomy news
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