SUNSET: 
Ringed Disks Don’t Always Mean Planets
Astronomers presenting at the winter American Astronomical Society meeting caution that the features often pointed to as evidence of growing natal planets could form on their own.
Mysterious Cosmic Bursts Traced to Extreme Environment
A repeating fast radio burst first detected in 2012 likely formed within a potent magnetic field — opening up the ambiguity of what caused the mysterious burst.
Hefty Stars Prompt Birth Debate
A new study found more massive stars than expected in an intensely star-forming region. The results beg the question whether the process of star formation really is universal.
Sun Might Have Formed in Giant Star's Bubble
A new theory of the solar system’s formation suggests that it formed within the shell of a wind-blown bubble surrounding a dead star.
New Observations of the "Most Mysterious Star in the Galaxy"
New data on Boyajian's Star show that dust — not an alien megastructure — is probably the cause of this star's mysterious behavior.
Neutron-star Smashup Might Have Choked Its Own Jet
LIGO’s neutron-star smashup might not have been a typical short gamma-ray burst. If true, the detection points toward a new class of gamma-ray bursts — but the jury is still out.
60-Second Astronomy News: Dec. 20, 2017
This week's roundup of astro news brings us a polar-orbiting planet, a novel way to measure stellar masses, and ginormous convective bubbles on a distant star.
Which of Kepler’s Stars Flare?
The habitability of distant exoplanets is dependent upon many factors — one of which is the activity of their host stars. To learn about which stars are most likely to flare, a recent study examines tens of thousands of stellar flares observed by Kepler. Need for a Broader Sample Most…
Infant Stars Huddle near Black Hole
A team of astronomers has found signs of small stars forming within a few light-years of the Milky Way’s central black hole.
The Star That Wouldn’t Die
Observations of a stellar explosion that refused to fade away have astronomers scratching their heads. What created the blast — and could it explain massive black holes?
Astronomers Catch Gravitational Waves from Colliding Neutron Stars
Spacetime ripples from the neutron star smash-up usher in the age of multi-messenger astronomy.
When a Star and a Binary Meet
What happens in the extreme environments of globular clusters when a star and a binary system meet? A team of scientists has new ideas about how these objects can deform, change their paths, spiral around each other, and merge.
Kepler Discovers Pulsations in the Pleiades
The exoplanet-hunting Kepler satellite has long monitored thousands of stars, but the brightest ones have largely remained out of its reach — until now.
Shockwaves Light up Stellar Explosions
Thermonuclear power sets off a type of stellar explosion known as a classical nova. Now, new research explains the mechanisms that cause these blasts to light up.
Historical Observations Reveal Ancient Nova
Astronomers and historians pinpoint the source of a 15th-century classical nova. It’s currently regathering strength.
Antares Image Reveals Chaotic Surface
Researchers have constructed a detailed view of the surface of red supergiant star Antares, revealing a chaotic atmosphere powered by mechanisms that are still poorly understood.
The White Dwarf That Survived
A peculiar white dwarf could be what’s left after a failed supernova explosion.
Sun's Waves Reveal Core's Spin
Solar astronomers may have finally detected gravity waves in our star’s core, revealing that the Sun’s central region rotates about four times faster than the outer layers.
ALMA Captures Star Formation in Action
New ALMA observations reveal a forming star as it launches a wind from the edge of the disk that feeds it.
Is Our Sun Slowing Down in Its Middle Age?
The Sun, now halfway through its life, might be slowing its magnetic activity, which could lead to permanent changes in the sunspots and auroras we see.
