'The Universe is slowly dying,' study shows with unprecedented precision

By Ben Brumfield, CNN

Updated 0746 GMT (1546 HKT) August 11, 2015

The Blue Ring Nebula is thought to be a never-before-seen phase that occurs after the merger of two stars. Debris flowing out from the merger was sliced by a disk around one of the stars, creating two cones of material glowing in ultraviolet light.
Photos: Wonders of the universe
The Blue Ring Nebula is thought to be a never-before-seen phase that occurs after the merger of two stars. Debris flowing out from the merger was sliced by a disk around one of the stars, creating two cones of material glowing in ultraviolet light.
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The red supergiant star Betelgeuse, in the constellation of Orion, experienced unprecedented dimming late in 2019. This image was taken in January using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope.
Photos: Wonders of the universe
The red supergiant star Betelgeuse, in the constellation of Orion, experienced unprecedented dimming late in 2019. This image was taken in January using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope.
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This is an infrared image of Apep, a Wolf-Rayet star binary system located 8,000 light-years from Earth.
Photos: Wonders of the universe
This is an infrared image of Apep, a Wolf-Rayet star binary system located 8,000 light-years from Earth.
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An artist's illustration, left, helps visualize the details of an unusual star system, GW Orionis, in the Orion constellation. The system's circumstellar disk is broken, resulting in misaligned rings around its three stars.