Neutron stars

Astronomers thought they had solved the mystery of gamma-ray bursts. A few recent events suggest otherwise.

After a search of neutron stars finds preliminary evidence for hypothetical dark matter particles called axions, astrophysicists are devising new ways to spot them.

These ultrabright flashes have recently been tracked for days, upending ideas about the cataclysms that create them.

Groundbreaking results show that neutron stars of different masses may have the same size — upending astrophysical models.

Small black holes were nowhere to be found, leading astronomers to wonder if they didn’t exist at all. Now a series of findings, including a “unicorn” black hole, has raised hopes of solving the decade-long mystery.

Three-dimensional supernova simulations have solved the mystery of why they explode at all.

After a burst lit up their telescope “like a Christmas tree,” astronomers were able to finally track down the source of these cosmic oddities.

A recent neutron star merger has defied astronomers’ expectations, leading them to question longstanding ideas about neutron stars and the supernovas that create them. “We have to go back to the drawing board.”

How do magnetars get so magnetic? A study of stellar explosions shows that the long-accepted theory might be wrong.