Tag Archive | "white dwarf"

At 1,500,000 mph, twin stars in the constellation Cancer win speediest orbit award

At 1,500,000 mph, twin stars in the constellation Cancer win speediest orbit award

The stars move quickly because they are very close to each other, separated by only about one-fourth the distance from the Earth to the Moon. As a result, they share strong gravitational forces. They were once farther apart but have spiraled closer together over time. Billions of years from now, they will crash together and merge. [...more]

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Mergers of dense stellar remnants are likely trigger for many supernovae

Mergers of dense stellar remnants are likely trigger for many supernovae

The results show mergers of two dense stellar remnants are the likely cause of many of the supernovae that have been used to measure the accelerated expansion of the universe. [...more]

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Kiwis come to National Zoo. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo will be using a new kiwi pair donated by the New Zealand Embassy to establish a breeding science center. Both birds came from the Ngati Hine people in New Zealand. Adding these animals to the genetic pool in North America is a rare and valuable opportunity. This pair came with another pair that will continue on to Germany and one bird that went to the San Diego Zoo. Kiwis are native to New Zealand and have been there for more than 60 million years, making them New Zealand’s most ancient bird. (Photo by Mehgan Murphy)

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