An exploding white dwarf star blasted itself out of its orbit with another star in a ‘partial supernova’ and is now hurtling across our galaxy, according to a new study from the University of Warwick.

Press release from Warwick Newsroom

Professor Don Pollaco has the job most kids want - he finds planets for a living. He has been a research scientist in astrophysics for 33 years and his interest in space was originally inspired by watching the moon landings with his dad.

So when he was asked to talk to a group of visiting VIPs the observatory on La Palma, where the University of Warwick has several research telescopes, he was stunned to find himself face to face with Neil Armstrong.

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Many of the things we take for granted in the modern world rely heavily on satellites in space. James Blake from the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group explores the growing need to safeguard these satellites against the hazards they face on a daily basis.

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A new analysis of white dwarf stars involving a University of Warwick astronomer supports their role as a key source of carbon, an element crucial to all life, in the Milky Way and other galaxies.

A press release from Warwick Newsroom

The surviving core of a gas giant has been discovered orbiting a distant star by University of Warwick astronomers, offering an unprecedented glimpse into the interior of a planet.

A press release from Warwick Newsroom

We are familiar with the idea that the twinkling pinpricks of light in the sky are stars, like our own Sun. That sometimes misleads us into thinking that all those stars are the same. In fact, there are many types of stars, and we can see most of these in the night sky, explains Dr Elizabeth Stanway from Warwick’s astronomy and astrophysics research team.

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The largest and most recognisable star in our sky is, of course, our own Sun. For obvious reasons, there is no point in searching for it at night and you should never look directly at the Sun, so if you want to find out more about it you need a tool that you can use during the day. Professor Tom Marsh from the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group explains how to make a sundial and what it can tell us about our Sun.

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It’s quite easy to see some of the other planets in our Solar system from your garden, balcony or on an evening walk. In fact, you might have already seen them without realising it, explains Dr David Brown from Warwick’s astrophysics team.

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If you ask most adults, or look in books more than about ten years old, they will tell you that there are nine planets in the solar system, rather than the eight we talk about today. But about ten years ago, one planet got dropped. The story of the missing object – Pluto – is one of discovery, debate and a momentous decision that explains how we found a whole new class of objects: the dwarf planets, explains Dr Elizabeth Stanway.

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Nebulae are birthplaces of stars and spectacular sights to behold. But you don’t need a powerful telescope to experience these ‘Stellar Nurseries’, as postgraduate researcher Jack McCleery explains.

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