We know that regular supernovas pose no existential threat to life on Earth in the near-term. But there are other varieties ...

A mysterious gamma-ray burst has left scientists baffled, as it appears to be more powerful and unusual than anything detected before. Gamma-ray bursts are the most energetic explosions in the ...

For over a decade, a star system on the verge of unleashing a deadly gamma ray burst appeared to have its guns trained on ...

Decades of W.M. Keck Observatory research on the famed Wolf-Rayet 104 “pinwheel star” system has taken a new turn, revealing more mystery but reducing concerns about its potential as the “Death Star.” ...

New research led by W. M. Keck Observatory Instrument Scientist and astronomer Grant Hill has confirmed what scientists have long suspected—WR 104 comprises two massive stars: a Wolf-Rayet star and an ...

The spectacle is soon doomed to end in a supernova, tragically. Wolf-Rayets have lifespans only in the hundreds of thousands of years, opening the possibility that the gamma ray burst it would ...

A cubesat, a type of small satellite in the shape of a cube with 10-centimetre-long edges, GRBAlpha was designed as ...

X-ray bursts and flares: The powerful magnetic field deforms the neutron star's crust, sporadically causing small ruptures. These deformations trigger bright flashes in X-rays and gamma rays ...