When the most massive stars in the universe die, they often detonate in fiery supernovae, dramatically blasting most of their matter into space. The remaining stellar cores collapse into neutron stars and, sometimes, black holes. However, theories suggest that some massive stars might die without a bang, instead directly collapsing inward to become neutron stars or black holes.

For the second time in a few weeks, we’re writing about research into the temperature gap between the sun’s surface and its corona. More and more data from various missions continue to feed this wave of discovery. A new paper by Katariina Nykyri of Embry-Riddle, recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, adds to this growing body of work. She argues that millions of tiny whirlpools scattered across the sun’s surface could be the energetic engine driving that temperature difference.

Black hole jet ejections are powerful outbursts of high-energy photons and particles that provide insights into extreme astrophysical processes. However, predicting when they will occur remains difficult. In a study, researchers from Japan analyzed observations of four black hole binary systems, identifying decreases in the accretion disk’s inner radius and changes in emitted X-ray variability as possible predictors for jet ejection. Their findings could help astronomers forecast these phenomena more accurately and coordinate timely observations.