Articles in 2022

Measurements of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect for the ultra-short-period super-Earth 55 Cancri e reveal a signal with a semi-amplitude of 0.41+0.09-0.10 m s⁻¹, in close alignment with its star and potentially misaligned with the other planets in the system. Such a configuration favours a non-violent migration pathway for 55 Cnc e.

Simultaneous polarimetry measurements in the optical and radio bands for the afterglow emission of GRB 191221B provide insights into particle acceleration and total energy budget of gamma-ray bursts.

JWST observations of the planetary nebula NGC 3132 reveal a rich molecular environment containing evidence of multiple stellar interactions on a variety of scales.

Early emission from gamma-ray burst GRB 211211A comes entirely from charged particles accelerating in strong magnetic fields. The fast-evolving spectrum may be the key to understanding unusually long-lived GRBs from neutron star mergers.

New analyses of data from NASA’s InSight mission show that the majority of marsquakes arise from warm rocks near a set of young volcanic fissures. This ongoing seismicity reveals that this region was recently volcanically active and may remain so today.

Quantum sensors, such as atomic clocks, placed deep into the inner Solar system, may be sufficiently sensitive to directly detect ultralight dark matter bound by the mass of the Sun.

An ~4,000-km-diameter and 200–500-km-thick active mantle plume is present below Elysium Planitia on Mars, indicating that the Martian interior is geodynamically active and drives the volcanic and seismic activity of the region. Studies from the InSight lander need to consider the presence of the plume.

By modelling the radio, optical, UV and X-ray data of the unusually bright cosmological explosion AT 2022cmc, Pasham et al. argue for the presence of a highly collimated jet moving at ≳99.99% the speed of light.

A fast-rising and rapidly evolving tidal disruption event in a dwarf galaxy could indicate the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole, and such nuclear transients in general could provide an opportunity to study these reclusive compact objects.

An analysis of several models provides astrophysical constraints on the Universe at redshift ~20, corresponding to ~200 million years after the Big Bang, using upper limits on the sky-averaged 21-cm signal measured by the SARAS 3 radiometer.

Individual productivity among astronomers was boosted during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the improvement was not shared equally between men and women: a smaller fraction of papers were written by female astronomers and fewer women were among incoming new researchers in many countries.

Using detailed solar coronal observations and advanced magnetohydrodynamics simulations, the authors find that a coronal web above a region of coronal holes and active regions dynamically evolves and persistently drives the highly structured slow solar wind.

Elucidating the origin of recent tensions between probes of the early and late Universe could lead to a new understanding of gravity on the largest scales.

The theme of tensions in cosmology has become increasingly important in the cosmological community, proving capable of attracting new generations of scientists who want to be there and contribute to the next paradigm shift.

Data from the gravitational wave event GW190521 can be explained by a semi-analytical model of two stellar-mass, nonspinning black holes on highly eccentric, hyperbolic orbits that undergo two close encounters before merging into an intermediate-mass black hole.

Exoplanets with radii between 1.4 and 2.5 R_⊕ may have atmospheres strongly enhanced in helium after a few billion years, due to the preferential loss of hydrogen over helium via photoevaporation. If observed, this phenomenon could demonstrate the importance of photoevaporation in shaping the radius valley.

Observational evidence from planetary systems around white dwarfs shows that planetesimal formation occurs during the first few hundred thousand years after cloud collapse. Iron accreted by these white dwarfs must have been formed by short-lived radioactive nuclides driving iron core formation in planetesimals that form together with the parent star.

For blind and visually impaired astronomers, sonification of data creates opportunities for research and outreach. But for everyone, this Focus issue lays out the benefits of complementing vision-based data analysis tools with data sonification.

The habitability of early Mars’s subsurface to methanogenic microorganisms was assessed using a planetary ecosystem model that couples a subsurface biosphere to the atmospheric chemistry and climate. Mars’s subsurface was initially likely habitable, but the biosphere would have cooled the planet down, potentially compromising its long-term habitability.