A puzzle written in the stars

We were excited to contribute a puzzle to a Numberphile video about unimaginable numbers.

The episode follows the adventures of a children’s book character named Mole, who attempts to use ladders to capture stars from the sky. You can watch the episode here, and if you’re up for the challenge, try to solve the star battle puzzle below.

Mole's Star Battle

What would happen if Mole didn’t put all the stars back in the galaxy?

Place stars in the grid such that each region, row, and column contains exactly 2 stars. Stars cannot neighbor other stars, even diagonally.