News in Brief Astronomy

High-energy radiation from stellar explosions explained

Pairs of stars might drive parcels of gas together and produce gamma rays

nova in space, illustration

NOISY NEIGHBOR  A nova is a thermonuclear explosion on a white dwarf (left, in this illustration) that steals gas from a nearby star (right). The two stars might work together to produce gamma rays (magenta).

S. Wiessinger/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

By Christopher Crockett

- More than 2 years ago

New observations might explain why explosions on three nearby white dwarfs, the cores of dead stars, recently belched out gamma rays (SN: 9/20/14, p.