Nearly 4.5 million years ago, two enormous, blazing stars swung close to the solar system. They did not touch the sun, but they came close enough to leave a permanent mark on the thin mist of gas that ...

A new discovery about what happens when a supernova – an exploding star – and a black hole collide could change the way scientists understand the lives and deaths of stars. The finding was the first ...

Massive stars have a layered structure, similar to an onion. The outermost layers predominantly comprise the lightest elements; as the layers move inward, the elements become heavier and heavier until ...

What’s the link between an exploding star, climate change and human evolution? Francis Thackeray, who has researched ancient environments and fossils for many years, sets out his ideas about what ...