Space & Physics: Supernova remnants around a "zombie" star

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October 31 — Happy Halloween! I can't resist making this week's newsletter brief just a bit spooky. So our top stories are about creepy celestial images, a supernova's grisly remains around a "zombie" star, and the scary threats posed by proliferating space debris. Enjoy all this and more—and try not to eat too much candy. --Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space and Physics

Top Stories

Treat or Trick? Astronomical Objects Are Beautiful—And Creepy If you've ever seen faces in clouds, these heavenly entities will leave you haunted Phil Plait

Scientists Spy a 'Dandelion' Supernova around a 'Zombie' Star A strange supernova remnant first appeared as a "guest star" seen in 1181 by sky watchers in China and Japan Tom Metcalfe

Fastest Known Planetary System May Have Been Pushed by Our Galaxy's Supermassive Black Hole This blazingly-fast star is shooting through the Milky Way with a planet in tow Jonathan O'Callaghan

Plans to Trash the Space Station Preview a Bigger Problem A special spacecraft will guide the space station through Earth's atmosphere, but what about other large pieces of space debris? Sarah Scoles

The Universe in 100 Colors Provides a Stunning Tour through Science A science photo book probes the colors we can see—and even "forbidden" colors we can't Sarah Lewin Frasier

Could Colossal Black Hole Jets Have Shaped the Early Universe? Supermassive black holes can expel jets of material so vast and powerful that they may shape the large-scale structure of the cosmos Saima S. Iqbal, intern writer

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What We're Reading

For some reason, NASA is treating problems with its Orion crew capsule as a secret. | Ars Technica Concerns are growing about SpaceX's involvement in U.S. national security projects due to the erratic behavior and political partisanship of Elon Musk, the company's owner. | New York Times Modern high-performance cars are using a weird physics trick to reach record-breaking speeds. | Wired

From the Archive

Weird Supernova Remnant Blows Scientists' Minds Fireworks display from rare dying star is unlike anything astronomers have seen Shannon Hall; Nature magazine

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