Free Republic

Hottest, heaviest touching double star Astronomers say the two stars might be heading for catastrophe. They will likely either merge to create a single giant star or form a double black hole. This artist’s impression shows VFTS 352 — hottest and most massive double star system known to date where the two components are in contact and sharing material. Image via ESOWe know that many stars in our galaxy are in double or multiple systems, but here are two stars so close they touch. An international team of astronomers said this week (October 21, 2015) that this system – known...

BEIJING (Reuters) - Pushing ahead with a space program that has won international acclaim, China launched a satellite on Tuesday as part of its first joint initiative with the European Space Agency to help track storms in space. Probe No. 1, an equatorial orbiting satellite, blasted off atop a Long March 2C/SM carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan province, the official Xinhua news agency said. China's highest orbiting satellite ever launched, part of the Sino-European Double Star Project, was expected to remain in orbit for 18 months to track space storms and help improve...