When certain stars collapse, they release overwhelming blasts of energy called gamma-ray bursts the most powerful explosion in the universe. But the cosmic leftovers of these violent outbursts have been a mystery until now. Full story
Located about 3,000 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Scorpio, a newly spotted neutron star is the largest ever discovered to date. Full story
Strange fast-spinning stars called magnetars get their names from the fact that they are the universe's most powerful magnets and unleash massive amounts of radiation. But now scientists have found that some magnetars can release mighty explosions without needing giant magnetic fields as previously Full story
Neutron stars may not remain a mystery for much longer, as an x-ray pulsar named J1749.4-2807 may yet reveal their secrets. Full story
'White dwarf' stars may explain what happens to smaller-size stars that die. Full story
The supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, one of the youngest in our galaxy and one that has long puzzled astronomers, is likely a dense type of star called a neutron star swathed in a carbon atmosphere, Full story
Feb. 11: The Swift satellite's X-Ray Telescope captures an apparent halo of X-ray light expanding outward from a neutron star. Msnbc.com's Alan Boyle reports.
A star's spectacular death in the constellation Taurus was observed on Earth as the supernova of 1054 A.D. Now, almost a thousand years later, a super dense object -- called a neutron star -- left behind by the explosion is seen spewing out a blizzard of high-energy particles into the expanding debr
A Chandra X-ray Observatory image of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, with an artist's impression of the neutron star at the center of the remnant. The discovery of a carbon atmosphere on this neutron star resolves a 10-year old mystery surrounding this object.
A rapidly spinning neutron star known as PSR B1509-58 spews out patterns of energy that look like a cosmic hand in this Chandra X-ray image.
NASA/Swift/Jules Halpern | Star BurstSwift's X-Ray Telescope captured an apparent expanding halo around the flaring neutron star SGR J1550-5418. The halo formed as X-rays from the brightest flares scattered off of intervening dust clouds.
