Globular clusters, such as NGC 1866, contain very old Population II stars, the generation that followed Population III. (ESA/Hubble & NASA)Long before stars illuminated the cosmos, the Universe existed in a vast sea of hydrogen and helium. Only when these gases clumped together under immense pressure did the first stars ignite, forging heavier elements in...
Credit: pixabayWater is a cornerstone of life. Every organism on Earth depends on it, and our planet thrives with life due to its abundance of water.The link between water and life comes from both water’s unique properties and its abundance in the cosmos.The Origins of Water: Hydrogen and OxygenWater, with its simple structure of...
A rendering of the NGC 2264 as captured by telescopes from NASA and the National Science Foundation. (X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: T.A. Rector (NRAO/AUI/NSF and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA) and B.A. Wolpa (NOIRLab/NSF/AURA); Infrared: NASA/NSF/IPAC/CalTech/Univ. of Massachusetts; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare & J.Major)Thousands of light-years from Earth, a cluster of stars in the NGC 2264 cluster is embracing...
This picture shows three types of stars in our galaxy: G stars, which are like our Sun; K dwarfs, which are smaller and cooler; and M dwarfs, which are even fainter and cooler. It compares them in terms of important things. Hotter stars have wider habitable zones where life might exist. Red dwarf M...
