Madhurani’s blog

A nova and supernova are both bright events in the sky that are generally visible during the night to the naked eye. Until very recently, they were used very interchangeably. However, recent discoveries have found that the two have completely different causes....

Supernova is a stellar explosion that briefly outshines an entire galaxy. The amount of energy that is radiated is as much as the Sun or any ordinary star is expected to emit over its entire lifespan but over a brief burst. The supernova fades from view over a period...

Most stars consist of hydrogen as their primary component. However, there are certain stars that are extremely low or almost devoid of hydrogen. This category of stars is termed "hydrogen-deficient stars". Hydrogen deficient starsCool carbon stars like R Coronae...

Red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass. Its mass usually ranges between 0.3 to eight times that of our Sun. These stars are usually in a very late phase of stellar evolution. Red giants have radii tens to hundreds of times larger than that of...

VY Canis Majoris or VY CMa is a red hypergiant star. It is located in the constellation Canis Major. It is one of the largest and brightest red hypergiants observed so far. It has a diameter of 1800 solar radii. This star emits energy very quickly and therefore, only...

Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. It lies in the constellation "Bootes" and is known as "Alpha Bootes". It is the fourth brightest star in the night sky, after Sirius, Canopus and Alpha Centauri. It lies barely 36.7 light-years from...

Betelgeuse is the ninth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest in the constellation of Orion. It is also known by its official name or Bayer designation "alpha Orionis". This is often shortened to alpha-Orionis or alpha ori. The star's name is...

Polaris is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor and the 45th brightest star in the night sky. It is very close to the north celestial pole and is commonly used for navigation. Thus, it is also commonly known as the pole star, loadestar, or guiding star....

Space begins where Earth's atmosphere ends. There was a time when space was believed to be completely empty. However, this is not true. The vast gaps between the stars and the planets are filled with huge amounts of gases and dust. Even the emptiest parts of space...