neutron stars

Einstein Probe reveals hidden X-ray phase after star merger

An international team of astronomers has uncovered a previously unseen chapter in one of the most violent events in the universe: the collision and merger of two neutron stars. Using China's Einstein Probe satellite, researchers observed minutes-long soft X-ray emission…

Plutonium from ancient cosmic explosion found on Pacific Ocean floor

Debris from a cataclysmic cosmic explosion more than 100 million years ago is still falling on Earth today. An international team of researchers has detected hundreds of atoms of plutonium-244 — a radioactive isotope that can only form in the…