Stellar Objects

Binary star systems consist of two stars orbiting their common center of mass, gravitationally bound to each other.

A region of spacetime with extreme gravity.

Blue giants are massive, hot, luminous stars on or near the main sequence with surface temperatures 10,000-50,000+ K.

Cepheid variables are luminous pulsating stars with periods of 1-100 days, exhibiting a precise relationship between pul...

Globular clusters are ancient, spherical concentrations of 100,000-1 million stars, tightly gravitationally bound and or...

A hypernova is an exceptionally energetic supernova (10-100× normal), producing relativistic jets and associated with lo...

A magnetar is a neutron star with an extraordinarily powerful magnetic field (10^14-10^15 Gauss), the strongest magnetic...

Main sequence stars are in the stable, longest phase of stellar life, fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores.

A neutron star is the ultra-dense remnant of a massive star's supernova explosion, composed almost entirely of neutrons ...

Open clusters are loose groups of 100-1,000 young stars born together from the same molecular cloud, weakly gravitationa...

A planetary nebula is a glowing shell of gas ejected by a dying low/medium-mass star, ionized by ultraviolet radiation f...

A protostar is the earliest stage of star formation, a dense core within a collapsing molecular cloud that has not yet i...

A pulsar is a highly magnetized, rapidly rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation from its ma...

RR Lyrae stars are older, less luminous pulsating variables with periods 0.2-1 day, found in globular clusters and galac...

A red giant is an evolved star that has exhausted core hydrogen and expanded dramatically while cooling, fusing hydrogen...

Red supergiants are the largest stars by volume, evolved massive stars (>8 solar masses) with radii up to 1,000-1,500 ti...

A star is a self-luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity, generating energy through nuclear fusion in its cor...

A supernova is a catastrophic stellar explosion, briefly outshining entire galaxies and producing most elements heavier ...

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are expanding shells of gas and magnetic fields produced by supernova explosions, observable f...

Variable stars are stars whose brightness changes over time, either intrinsically (physical changes) or extrinsically (e...

A white dwarf is the dense, hot remnant core of a low/medium-mass star (0.5-8 solar masses) that has shed its outer laye...