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Seasonal changes in the correlation between O2 and H2O in comet 67P’s coma are indicative of two reservoirs of molecular oxygen in the nucleus, a deeper primordial one and a surficial one, suggesting that the observed high abundance of O2 and its association with H2O are not reflective of the original accretion source.
Six out of the eight planets of the Solar System have moons, which are inextricably linked to the planets’ formation. Finding moons of exoplanets is a new way to explore their origins.
The galactic black hole binary GRS 1915+105 shows highly variable yet correlated X-ray and radio emission, implying that the corona and jet share an energy reservoir. This observation supports the idea that the corona may be a form of the jet.
The newly discovered eROSITA X-ray bubbles in the Milky Way’s centre, together with the Fermi bubbles and microwave haze, may be explained by a single episode of central supermassive-black-hole jet activity a few million years ago.
Alkaline conditions in icy worlds favour aqueous alteration processes even at subzero temperatures. As a consequence of geologically rapid alterations, the rocky cores of all icy bodies larger than 500 km in diameter should be largely composed by altered hydrated minerals formed within a few hundred million years after formation.
Gravitational-wave science is rapidly growing in maturity as a research area; in May 2021 the next generation of gravitational-wave scientists gathered together to create a vision of the future of the field.
The EDGES team reported a measurement of the redshifted 21 cm absorption line of neutral hydrogen from the cosmic dawn. However, the SARAS 3 measurement of the radio sky spectrum now suggests that the EDGES detection might not have a cosmological source.
The range of timescales and luminosities measured from the nearby fast radio burst FRB 20200120E observationally connects these extreme extragalactic transients with studies of Galactic neutron stars.
Ultrahot giant planet WASP-121b has a stratosphere that warms up with altitude during the day and cools down with altitude during the night. This trend is in agreement with predictions from circulation models in chemical equilibrium. Efficient vertical mixing hinders condensation of at least some refractory materials.
An experiment designed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences — the Balloon-Borne Astrobiology Platform (CAS-BAP) — paves the way to conducting astrobiology research in Earth’s near space as a planetary analogue.
Oxygen is the building block of key species in planetary atmospheres and a potential life indicator. Ground-based spectroscopy is now used to detect oxygen on an ultra-hot Jupiter and to prove departure from thermochemical equilibrium.
The latest iteration of the Science at Low Frequencies conference took place online over 6–9 December 2021. More than 400 attendees registered to hear about topics ranging from the Earth’s ionosphere to the Epoch of Reionization.
Following the nominal arrival of the James Webb Space telescope at L2, hopes are high for exciting scientific discoveries, starting from later this year and stretching for decades to come.
Equitable and high-quality scientific education is essential for fighting social inequalities and misinformation. The CosmoAmautas project aims to address this need and use astronomy to contribute to an accessible and decentralized scientific education in Peru.
Any detection of potential biosignature molecules like oxygen and methane needs to be put into the planetary environmental context to understand its actual importance. Such a contextual approach is also essential when considering alternative or agnostic biosignatures on planets and exoplanets.
Supra-arcade downflows (SADs) are dark, turbulent flows that appear in the Sun’s corona during a solar flare, which have defied explanation for over two decades. A three-dimensional simulation can finally explain the origins of these plasma downflows.
Very early observations of a type Ia supernova—from within one hour of explosion—show a red colour that develops and rapidly disappears. These data provide information on the initial explosion mechanism: surface nuclear burning on the white dwarf or extreme mixing of the nuclear burning process.
