What the next supernova can teach us, and why astronomers hope it will come from Betelgeuse

Credit: ESO/L. Calçada

Chenoa van den Boogaard, Physics & Astronomy editor In October 2019, astronomers noticed that Betelgeuse, the red supergiant star that forms the left shoulder of the constellation Orion, was beginning to dim. While variable stars such as Betelgeuse regularly experience dim and bright phases throughout their lives, this recent dimming phase was unusual because the […]

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Making waves in science: Gravity

Alex Chattwood and Susan Vickers, Communications, Education & Outreach co-editors The detection of gravitational waves last month by LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, a collaborative observatory and experiment in the US designed for this very purpose) scientists was a huge deal, not just for scientists, but for everyone. According to Google Trends, “gravitational wave” […]

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A New Wave of Astronomy

By Stephanne Taylor, Physics & Astronomy Editor Just over two weeks ago, physicists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, announced that they had, for the first time, directly observed a gravitational wave, dubbed GW150914. The physics community promptly exploded in giddy excitement. The first directly detected gravitational wave. Figure 1 from Observation of […]

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