The JWST detection of highly excited rotational lines from the hydroxyl radical in an irradiated planet-forming disk indicates an active water cycle in the disk upper layers. This cycle could process the Earth’s oceans’ worth of material in weeks, resetting diagnostic isotope ratios, for instance.

See Zannese et al.

A heavyweight black hole, embedded within quasar SMSS J052915.80−435152.0 at a redshift of z ≈ 4, is accreting a solar mass of material every day. The process releases 2 × 1041 W of power, meaning that this quasar currently holds the title of most luminous quasar known.

See Wolf et al.

Two thousand hours of observations split between four 25–32 m telescopes have produced a comprehensive overview of the high-energy radio emission from repeating fast radio burst source FRB 20201124A. The burst characteristics resemble those of non-repeating burst sources, suggesting a link.

See Kirsten et al.

SuperBIT is a wide-field, diffraction-limited optical and near-UV imager of the sky that was designed to travel via the seasonal winds at an altitude of 33 km. Suspended from a scientific balloon rather than a crane, its April 2023 mission took in views of merging galaxy clusters, galaxies, and massive star winds from the stratosphere.

See Massey et al.

Habitability is usually defined for a specific time during a planet’s evolution. But how is that habitability sustained over billions of years? Comparing habitable conditions across different Solar System bodies is key to our understanding of the underlying processes driving long-term habitability.

See Cockell et al.