New research led by W. M. Keck Observatory Instrument Scientist and astronomer Grant Hill has confirmed what scientists have long suspected—WR 104 comprises two massive stars: a Wolf-Rayet star and an ...

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), in partnership with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), has developed ...

A recent study reveals that the famous Wolf-Rayet 104 "pinwheel star" holds more mystery but is even less likely to be the ...

"The exploded material of the star is opaque at early times ... "In fact, this was one of the narrowest jets seen for a gamma-ray burst so far, which gives us a hint as to why the afterglow ...

"We would like to understand the difference between these systems, which holds the clue to understand just how many cosmic rays are produced in the jets of microquasars." ...

In these cases, the core of the star collapses to be a super-compressed, spinning black hole, which stirs and energize the wreckage around it to briefly emit a tremendous burst of gamma rays.

A new study has shed light on the orbital alignment of the well-known Wolf-Rayet 104 (WR 104) system, long considered a potential threat due to its speculated gamma-ray burst (GRB) risk. Observations ...

ESA’s Integral observed space for 22 years, uncovering gamma-ray bursts, black holes, and gravitational waves.

The team’s findings, published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, show even a black hole eating such a small star could accelerate particles enough to create gamma-ray photons. This suggests ...

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured the stunning image of Cartwheel Galaxy. This landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, ...

An artist’s concept of the famous Wolf-Rayet 104 “pinwheel star,” previously nicknamed the “Death Star.” New research ...