Subscribe now

Comment

Don't Miss: A Supernova science talk by astrophysicist Thomas Haworth

New Scientist's weekly round-up of the best books, films, TV series, games and more that you shouldn't miss

5 April 2023

Dusty Beginnings of a Star This artist's rendering gives us a glimpse into a cosmic nursery as a star is born from the dark, swirling dust and gas of this cloud. Stars form when dark dust from the cloud begins to clump together under the influence of its own gravity. The infalling material forms a disk as it spirals inward, which feeds material onto the forming star at its center. Jets of material that shoot from the inner disk and protostar herald its birth. Planets form out of the remnants of the disk of material that surrounds the infant star. This leads to a question that has long perplexed astronomers about the nature of brown dwarfs, objects that fall between planets and stars in terms of their temperature and mass.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Visit

Supernova Science really matters, as the destructive effects of exploding stars wreak havoc across the universe. Astrophysicist Thomas Haworth explains at the Royal Institution, London, at 7pm BST on 11 April.

New Scientist Default Image

Read

The Liars of Nature and the Nature of Liars are explored by behavioural scientist Lixing Sun. Cheating is found everywhere in the natural world and in human society. Interestingly, it can fuel diversity in both. On sale from 4 April.

Stories of Paper Innovation Holding a Chinese woodblock from museums collection

Robert C Williams Museum of papermaking

Watch

Stories of Paper Innovation are told by Nasreen Khan at Georgia Tech, as she probes paper’s past (like printing with …

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

View introductory offers

No commitment, cancel anytime*

Offer ends 14th June 2023.

*Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues.

Inclusive of applicable taxes (VAT)

or

Existing subscribers

Sign in to your account

More from New Scientist

Explore the latest news, articles and features

Popular articles

Trending New Scientist articles

1

Chaotically shifting planets could be a sign of advanced aliens

2

Which countries will do well at Eurovision 2023 – according to science

3

Emergence: The mysterious concept that holds the key to consciousness

4

The mental tricks you can use in your lifelong pursuit of happiness

5

Why the mind-body connection is vital to understanding consciousness

6

Mysterious sounds in stratosphere can't be traced to any known source

7

A distant supernova defies our understanding of the cosmos’s expansion

8

Electromagnetic fields from power lines are messing with honeybees

9

What is the future of AI? Google and the EU have very different ideas

10

We now know how parasitic worms help ward off obesity and diabetes