red giant

(Newser) - As April's total solar eclipse approaches, scientists say astrophiles are in for another cosmic treat in coming months. Dubbed by NASA as a "once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity," a rare event in a star system far, far away will cause it to shine brighter than Polaris, the North Star....

(Newser) - Astronomers observing the Perseus constellation have caught a glimpse of the fate that awaits our own planet: digestion inside a giant star. Unusual amounts of lithium were detected inside the elderly red giant BD+48 740, and a surviving planet has shifted to a strange elliptical orbit, leading researchers to conclude...

(Newser) - NASA has discovered a group of massive red stars that are actually humming to themselves. The planet-hunting Kepler space telescope recently spotted sound waves emanating from the stars, the Wall Street Journal reports. NASA recorded the tune, and played it recently at a press conference in Denmark. “It is...

(Newser) - Astronomers have recently spotted a dying red giant star trailing material knocked off by winds  created by its high-speed orbit, providing an important clue to the life cycle of stars. Scientists have long theorized that the detritus of old stars become the seeds for new ones, but they've never before...