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  • Astronomers Find Far-flung “Super Earths” Are Not Farfetched

    A new study shows that planets bigger than Earth and smaller than Neptune are common outside the Solar System.

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  • exoALMA and CfA Provide a New Look at How Planets Are Formed

    Beyond planet hunting, this survey with significant CfA contributions will reveal the mechanics behind planet forming discs

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  • Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Launches Nationwide Astronomy Program for Rural Schools

    The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is launching a nationwide strategic investment in the future of rural education called Smithsonian Scientists Taking Astronomy to Rural Schools (STARS).

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Neutron Stars and White Dwarfs

When stars die, their fate is determined by how massive they were in life. Stars like our Sun leave behind white dwarfs: Earth-size remnants of the original star’s core. More massive stars explode as supernovas, while their cores collapse into neutron stars: ultra-dense, fast-spinning spheres made of the same ingredients as the nucleus of an atom. At least some neutron stars are pulsars, which produce powerful beams of light, which as they sweep across our view from Earth look like extremely regular flashes.

Small as they are, the deaths of these compact objects change the chemistry of the universe. The supernova explosions of white dwarfs and the collisions of neutron stars create new elements on the periodic table. For all these reasons, white dwarfs and neutron stars are important laboratories for physics at the extremes of strong gravity, density, and temperature.

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