The final stage of a superkilonova. Astronomers may have discovered a never-before-seen cosmic explosion that effectively combines a supernova with a kilonova—the blast that results when two dead, ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Caltech/K. Miller and R. Hurt (IPAC) Astronomers may have discovered the first example of ...

A strange flash in a distant galaxy first looked like a familiar kind of stellar wreckage, the radioactive afterglow of colliding neutron stars known as a kilonova. Then it brightened again, shifted ...

When the most massive stars reach the ends of their lives, they blow up in spectacular supernova explosions, which seed the universe with heavy elements such as carbon and iron. Another type of ...

This artist's animation shows a hypothe sized event known as a superkilonova . Initially, a massive star explodes in a supernova, which generates elements like carbon and iron. In the aftermath, two ...