Binance boss Changpeng Zhao has become the most powerful cryptocurrency figure to fall in a two-year period chaotic even by the standards...

A fuchsia sign for a bridal shop, the Chinese "double happiness" character, a cool-blue flying dragon -- luminous lights of dozens of neon signs removed from the streets of Hong Kong flickered...

Jordan’s crown prince has married the scion of a prominent Saudi family in a palace celebration attended by royals and other VIPs from around the world

By Xie Yu HONG KONG Asian stocks rose on Tuesday afternoon after Australia's central bank held interest rates

Oliver Dowden will warn the pace of change could outstrip governments' abilities to make AI safe.

“Ghost” stars are aligned in beautiful structures near the centre of our galaxy, scientists say – and they might finally be getting to know why. Researchers discovered the unusual alignment of these planetary nebulae ten years ago, when Manchester doctoral student Bryan Rees spotted them. But it has remained a mystery how they came to be that way. Now scientists have been able to confirm that unusual alignment. But they have also made a breakthrough in finding out why they are there, after they found that a particular group of stars known as binary stars is responsible. Planetary nebulae are gas clouds that are thrown out from stars when they come to the end of their life. Our own star, the Sun, will do the same in about five billion years. Those ejected clouds are like ghosts of their dying stars, and assemble themselves in beautiful shapes, researchers say, such as an hourglass or butterfly. Researchers studied a range of planetary nebulae that are near the centre of our Milky Way. Though they are not related and come from different stars and different times, many of their shapes are similar, lining up in the same way and on the same plane. In the new study, scientists found that the alignment happens when those ghosts have a close companion star. The companion orbits around the main star, at the centre of the planetary nebulae, at a very close orbit. Without such a companion star, the nebulae do not line up in the mysterious pattern. That suggests that the alignment is linked to the splitting of the binary components when the star is born. “This finding pushes us closer to understanding the cause for this mysterious alignment,” said Albert Zijlstra, co-author and professor in astrophysics at The University of Manchester. “Planetary nebulae offer us a window into the heart of our galaxy and this insight deepens our understanding of the dynamics and evolution of the Milky Way’s bulge region. “The formation of stars in the bulge of our galaxy is a complex process that involves various factors such as gravity, turbulence, and magnetic fields. Until now, we have had a lack of evidence for which of these mechanisms could be causing this process to happen and generating this alignment. “The significance in this research lies in the fact that we now know that the alignment is observed in this very specific subset of planetary nebulae.” Researchers looked at 136 confirmed planetary nebulae in the galactic bulge, or the thickest section of our Milky Way. They used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, and then looked at 40 more of them using images from the Hubble Space Telescope. The findings are reported in a new paper, ‘When the Stars Align: A 5 σ Concordance of Planetary Nebulae Major Axes in the Centre of our Galaxy’, in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Read More Euclid: UK-backed mission ready to uncover mysteries of the dark universe Jeff Bezos’ rocket exploded and he didn’t tell anyone Nasa unveils ‘astrovans’ to carry Artemis moon mission astronauts Jeff Bezos’ rocket exploded and he didn’t tell anyone Nasa unveils ‘astrovans’ to carry Artemis moon mission astronauts Nasa releases James Webb telescope image on one-year anniversary

Drugmakers' leading industry group is the latest to file a lawsuit seeking to stop Medicare's newly granted power to negotiate drug prices. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, known as PhRMA, argues that the negotiation provision is unconstitutional.

Shares of regional lenders PacWest Bancorp and Western Alliance resumed their slide in premarket trading on Tuesday as

Black Friday let you down? No biggie. The Cyber Monday sales are here and they're

On top of the widespread destruction and devastating loss of life, the wildfires are taking an incalculable emotional toll on many residents of a tight-knit island community who now face a hard choice: Move and start over elsewhere. Or stay and rebuild from scratch.

As the temperature drops (in many places), the holiday TV calendar is heating up with a variety of festive options

Cardinals Rumors: Newly acquired prospect Drew Rom enjoys a spectacular debutIt's only been two weeks, but the Cardinals' return for Jack Flaherty is looking up. At the MLB trade deadline, St. Louis received Baltimore Orioles prospect Drew Rom and two other players in exchange for Flaher...