This system consists of just 60 stars that are over 10 billion years old, all bound by their own gravity and maybe even dark matter, according to a press release from the W.M. Keck Observatory.
Using multiple telescopes, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science are working to understand supernovae, exploding stars, dating back millions of light-years and considered the building blocks of the universe and life itself.
Using the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) system, on Feb. 22, 2023, the team detected a sudden surge in brightness followed by a rapid dimming in the galaxy NGC 3799, located about 160 million light-years from Earth.
The 32-year-old postdoctoral researcher and astrophysicist from the Big Island is peering deep into space while helping develop next-generation technology to deliver even sharper images of the universe.
The annual meteor shower that happens from the end of December to the middle of January peaks tonight, with up to 120 bright fireball meteors possible streaking through the center of the sky.
There’s a dead star out there in the universe that is double-dealing with its composition. Nothing nefarious, but it is a first for the cosmic family of stars to which it belongs.