Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Guardian Weekly

    Wishing on a star

    May 13, 2022 5 minutes
    By Robin McKie

    If Stephen Smartt gets lucky, he may one day receive a message that will give the astrophysicist an advance warning that one of the most extraordinary displays known to science is about to light up the night sky. Signals relayed by automated telescope arrays and underground detectors will reveal that a star in our galactic neighbourhood has just turned supernova.

    A supernova occurs when a star destroys itself so completely it can outshine the light of an entire galaxy. In the last 1,000 years, only five have been visible to the naked eye. All occurred before the invention of the telescope.

    “We know about supernovae from their appearance in other galaxies and from remnants left behind in our own galaxy,” said Smartt, an astrophysicist based at Queen’s University Belfast. “But what we would love to do is see one that

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from Guardian Weekly

    Guardian Weekly3 min readAmerican Government
    Melania Is Back – But She’s Still Not Playing By The Rules
    Her biggest fashion statement as first lady was a green jacket emblazoned with the words, “I really don’t care, do u?” More recently Melania Trump has given the impression that she doesn’t care whether her husband, Donald, returns to the White House.
    Guardian Weekly3 min read
    Brexit Blamed As Restaurants Struggle To Hire Staff
    Emanuela Reccia has lived in London for almost a decade. She was a teenager when she left her home city of Naples to become a waitress in the UK, bringing her expertise and love of Italian cuisine to the capital. But the 27-year-old, like thousands o
    Guardian Weekly5 min readInternational Relations
    The New Rules Of Engagement
    IRAN’S MISSILE AND DRONE ATTACK ON ISRAEL had by the end of last week already become one of the most interpreted events in recent modern history. And then, in the early hours of last Friday, came Israel’s riposte. As in 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferd

    Related Books & Audiobooks