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Continuous gravitational waves represent an exciting new frontier for multi-messenger astrophysics. This overview discusses their origins and the results obtained in the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA O3 observing run, highlighting their potential for future studies.
Galaxies that formed during the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang have physical properties that deviate from later galaxies, due to substantial gas infall from the intergalactic medium that dilutes the observed chemical enrichment.
James Stone started developing Athena in the mid-2000s, building on several years’ work on numerical methods for compressible magnetohydrodynamics in shocks. A couple of incarnations later, AthenaK is ready to face the exascale computing future.
The two Moon landing attempts of the Luna 25 and the Chandrayaan-3 missions in close succession are symbolic of the renewed international push to go back to the Moon on a more consistent basis, which is shaping up to be one of the main space exploration narratives of our time.
The BOOTES global network of robotic telescopes is constantly watching the sky for astronomical transients, from its seven locations spread across both hemispheres.
Carbon atoms are one of the most abundant chemical species in the earliest stages of star formation. They had been thought to be immobile on the surface of interstellar ice, but laboratory experiments now show that a significant fraction of carbon atoms can move on the surface and react — changing our view of interstellar organic chemistry.
Measurements of the redshifted 21 cm line of neutral hydrogen could be a powerful tool for precision cosmology, constraining fundamental parameters and probing the cosmological dark ages. However, practical challenges must first be addressed.
Han, Conroy and Hernquist propose a solution to an old problem: the origin of the warp in the Galactic disk. Adopting a dark halo model that is tilted with respect to the disk, the authors reproduce the warp and flare of the disk in the observed direction and magnitude.
An ethical approach to research in extreme environments can lay the foundations for future space exploration that respects ecologies, is founded on authentic partnerships and supports co-learning from diverse communities of non-scientists.
The interstellar chemistry of carbon atoms is crucial to chemical complexity in the Universe. This experimental work suggests that C-atom reactions on interstellar ice surfaces contribute to C–C bond formation and chemical evolution towards complex organic species.
In our Solar System, whistler-mode chorus waves had been confirmed for all magnetized planets except Mercury. Finally, the first and second Mercury flybys in 2021 and 2022 by the BepiColombo/Mio spacecraft revealed chorus waves in the dawn sector.
Measurements of the abundance of nearside lunar surface water at various positions of the Moon during the crossing of Earth’s magnetotail bring evidence of the existence of processes of water formation linked to the plasma sheet.
Archival X-ray data reveal quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) in binary systems on timescales of several hours to several months. The discovery of QPEs in Swift J0230 data with periods of weeks may help bridge the gap in our understanding of their origins and timescales.