The Life of Stars

A discovery of binary stars could be the first step in building a more complete picture of how our galaxy formed, according to astronomers from The Australian National University. The discovery is part of an ambitious 10-year program to scan the entire southern sky every few nights.

Stars in close binary systems can exhibit unexpectedly high levels of magnetic activity, according to Australian and international researchers. This activity, responsible for flares and sunspots, is usually powered by the star's rotation, with magnetic activity higher in faster spinning stars, but only up to a known limit.

Astronomers from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research have made a discovery of a new cosmic phenomenon: ASKAP J1832-0911. This object emits pulses of radio waves and X-rays for two minutes every 44 minutes, marking the first detection of long-period transients in X-rays. This finding promises to shed light on similar mysterious signals observed in the Universe.

Astronomers from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research have made a discovery of a new cosmic phenomenon: ASKAP J1832-0911. This object emits pulses of radio waves and X-rays for...

They say music is the universal language of humankind, but some stars in our galaxy exhibit their own rhythm, offering fresh clues into how they and our galaxy evolved over time.

An international team of astrophysicists from China and Australia, led by former Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Gravitational-wave Discovery researcher Professor Xingjiang Zhu who is now a Professor at Beijing Normal University has, for the first time, determined how massive neutron stars are when they are born.

A white dwarf and a red dwarf star have been discovered closely orbiting each other and emitting radio pulses every two hours. Their finding means we know it isn't just neutron stars that emit such pulses, but these are spaced unusually far apart.

International scientists, including an Australian, say they've found evidence of the highest-energy neutrino detected to date. The result suggests the particle came from beyond our Milky Way, they say, although its precise origin remains mysterious.

Distant neutron stars typically spin a full 360 degrees within seconds. However, a new type of 'radio transient object' - so called as they are detected in radio waves - has emerged that rotate much more slowly. In the time it takes this cosmic lighthouse to rotate you could watch Interstellar twice before it completes a full spin.

An international study led by Australian astronomers has created the most detailed maps of gravitational waves across the universe to date in three new research papers. The study also produced the largest ever galactic-scale gravitational wave detector and found further evidence of a "background" of these invisible yet incredibly fast ripples in space that can help unlock some major mysteries of the universe.

Researchers from the Curtin node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research say they have made a record-breaking astrophysical discovery while simultaneously uncovering a possible explanation for the rare and extreme event known as long-period radio transients.

A shroud of gas stretches up to a million light years around every galaxy and is its first interaction with the wider Universe beyond.

Captured by cutting-edge radio telescope technology, a chance reactivation of a magnetar has revealed an unexpectedly complex environment.

In May 2023, shortly after the start of the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run, the LIGO Livingston detector observed a gravitational-wave signal

Scientists may be one step closer to unlocking one of the great mysteries of the universe after calculating that neutron stars might hold a key to helping us understand elusive dark matter.

A gamma-ray burst from a magentar has been detected by international researchers