Red giants

In the main sequence stage (the long middle of a star’s life), a star fuses hydrogen into helium in its core. This fusion produces energy, which pushes outward against gravity’s pull. But once the hydrogen in the core runs out, fusion slows.

Exoplanets

Kepler-22b

At 2.4 times Earth’s radius, Kepler-22b sits in a curious category between rocky and gaseous worlds. Astronomers call these “super-Earths” or “mini-Neptunes,” planets that may possess thick atmospheres or vast global oceans.

Exoplanets

TOI-700 d

In early 2020, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) quietly made history. Among thousands of worlds it was scanning, it found a small, rocky planet orbiting a dim red-dwarf star about 100 light-years away in the southern constellation Dorado.

Astronomy & Space

White Dwarf Stars

When stars die, they don’t all go out in a blaze of glory. Some fade away — quietly, beautifully — leaving behind a glowing core that tells the story of…