Lifeboat Foundation

The first stars flickered into being a few hundred million years after the big bang. Since then, galaxies have churned out stars at a stupendous rate, and scientists estimate there were now about a trillion trillion.

In total, the astronomers estimate, stars have radiated 4×10⁸⁴ photons (a photon being the smallest unit of light). Or put another way: 4,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 photons.

The astronomers based their calculation on measurements of the extragalactic background light (EBL), a cosmic fog of radiation that has been accumulating since stars first illuminated the dark, vast expanse of space.

Continue reading “Astronomers measure total starlight emitted over 13.7bn years” »

About 170 million years later, the light emanating from the explosion was received by an arsenal of high-powered telescopes here at Earth. While the telescopes observed, a few of those stars ended their long lives in dramatic explosions. See what we learned: https://go.nasa.gov/2rcIaOr&h=AT2ywbQrtay_XNW6uqmtoFtsirkvbj…cfHXkJ10lQ

This dark, tangled web spotted by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is a supernova remnant, created after a massive star ended its life in an explosion and threw its constituent material out into surrounding space. Discover more: https://go.nasa.gov/2G0nVgS&h=AT0m92-1V7h2Z6pdebGy-JSLFW…CsgI5QIBpg

You asked, we answered.

Quasars powered by supermassive black holes have been unexpectedly vanishing. Scientists have started to figure out why.

Here’s a look at fast-moving jet material from the powerful gravity of a supermassive black hole when a star wandered just a little too close: https://go.nasa.gov/2FAO1XB #BlackHoleFriday

When stars reach the end of their lifespan, many undergo gravitational collapse and explode into a supernova, In some cases, they collapse to become black holes and release a tremendous amount of energy in a short amount of time. These are what is known as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and they are one of the most powerful events in the known Universe.

Recently, an international team of astronomers was able to capture an image of a newly-discovered triple star system surrounded by a “pinwheel” of dust. This system, nicknamed “Apep”, is located roughly 8,000 light years from Earth and destined to become a long-duration GRB. In addition, it is the first of its kind to be discovered in our galaxy.

Continue reading “Massive Triple Star System Creates this Bizarre Swirling Pinwheel of Dust. And it Could be the Site of a Gamma Ray Burst” »

It’s #BlackFriday, but we don’t do much shopping in space. Instead, join us for our 6th annual #BlackHoleFriday where we’ll share awesome images and facts about black holes! https://go.nasa.gov/2FB9qQD

A star 8,000 light years from Earth is on the verge of a huge supernova explosion, which could produce the Milky Way’s first gamma-ray explosion, a dangerous and extremely energetic event.

Australian scientists at the University of Sydney discovered the rare ‘God of chaos’ star, which they say could produce the Milky Way’s first known gamma-ray burst, a lethal combination of dust and gas mixed with wind as fast as 12 million km/ph, which is one of the most extreme energetic events after the Big Bang.