Add BrightSurf on Google Email

Dead stars in our cosmic backyard: Astronomers spot four white dwarfs hiding under our noses

Researchers directly observed four white dwarf stars orbiting double star systems in our cosmic backyard. The new results revealed that each system had a red dwarf companion, which was hiding the white dwarf's light. This discovery allows researchers to update the local white dwarf census within 20 parsecs of Earth.

SourceUniversity of Warwick·JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society·TypeExperimental study·DateJul 13, 2026

Origin of the stellar Fe Kα line revealed!

A team of researchers at Kyoto University used NICER and Hisaki to study a superflare on the star UX Arietis, finding that photoionization is the dominant mechanism behind the iron Kα line. This discovery provides a diagnostic tool for astronomers to infer flare locations on stellar surfaces.

SourceKyoto University·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal·TypeObservational study·DateApr 27, 2026

Magnetic avalanches power solar flares

A team of scientists used Solar Orbiter's instruments to capture a large solar flare in unprecedented detail. The observations revealed that the flare was triggered by initially weak disturbances that quickly became more violent, creating a 'sky' of raining plasma blobs.

SourceEuropean Space Agency·JournalAstronomy and Astrophysics·TypeObservational study·DateJan 21, 2026

Solar Orbiter traces superfast electrons back to Sun

The European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter mission has split energetic particles into two groups, tracing them back to distinct solar outbursts. Researchers found that one type of particle is connected to intense solar flares and the other to larger coronal mass ejections.

SourceEuropean Space Agency·JournalAstronomy and Astrophysics·TypeObservational study·DateSep 1, 2025

FUSE Moves Closer To Launch

FUSE is the first large-scale space mission fully planned and operated by a university department. It will study the origin and evolution of hydrogen and deuterium, as well as galaxy evolution and star formation, analyzing clouds of gases between stars in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies.