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A three-dimensional reconstruction of a bright flare orbiting the black hole Sagittarius A* is computationally recovered from ALMA light curve data by constraining a neural network with a gravitational model of black holes.
Simulated close encounters between planetary systems and other stars reveal that outer giant planets on wide orbits tend to be ejected, with a fraction of them forming bound pairs. This scenario would lead to a population of free-floating binary planets in dense stellar environments
The Earth co-orbital asteroid Kamo‘oalewa, which is a target of the Chinese Tianwen-2 mission, may have a lunar origin instead of an asteroidal one. Dynamical constraints from numerical simulations suggest that it could be an escaping fragment from the lunar Giordano Bruno crater.
What mechanisms power the heating of the solar atmosphere is a long-standing, complex question. Satellite and sounding-rocket observations, coupled with computer simulations, now support the idea that dissipation of electrical currents causes strong heating in the brightest parts of the solar chromosphere and corona.
Foreign material delivered as a giant impact can dominate large portions of icy dwarf planets, according to impact simulations. This scenario may explain the peculiar shape and location of the Sputnik Planitia region on Pluto, without the need for a present-day subsurface ocean.
Analysis of high-resolution observations of solar ‘plage’ regions (areas of high magnetic field) shows a correlation between coronal emission and the thermodynamic properties of the chromosphere below. Simulations suggest the same heating source.
Analysis of archival XMM-Newton data yields measurements of stellar wind emission from three star systems, illustrating a direct method to determine the mass-loss rates of late-type main-sequence stars.
Stellar winds of main-sequence stars are extremely important for the evolution of both stars and planets, yet they are challenging to detect. Here a detection of charge-exchange X-ray emission from stellar winds from three main-sequence stars is presented, along with derived mass-loss rates.
Turbulence plays a key role in space and astrophysical plasmas. The study reports evidence of the weak-to-strong transition when Alfvénic turbulence cascades from large to small scales revealed from the Cluster observation of space plasma.
JWST observations of GRB 221009A reveal the associated supernova, confirming that the GRB resulted from the collapse of a rapidly rotating massive star. The lack of r-process emission suggests that these extreme events are not key sources of the heaviest elements.
Venus lacks a magnetic field, leading to interactions between the solar wind and its atmosphere. During its Venus fly-by, BepiColombo observed planetary C+ and O+ escape into space due to this interaction, which is important for understanding atmospheric evolution.
An outstanding discrepancy between observations and models of stellar limb darkening is resolved here by the inclusion of stellar surface magnetism in models. This will enable an improved characterization of transiting exoplanets.
In response to concerns raised by the Navajo Nation on treating the Moon as a grave, NASA has a unique opportunity to advance the conversation with Indigenous communities regarding how we interact with space environments, and who gets to decide.
The Vesta anorthosite meteorite discovery suggests Vesta experienced a lunar magma ocean-like process. Anorthite formed during magma crystallization could have floated to the surface of Vesta, creating a primary anorthositic crust.
Radio pulses from a rare, radio-loud magnetar, XTE J1810−197, are seen to have undergone a conversion in their polarization state. This change can be linked to the magnetar’s magnetic field geometry, and has commonalities with an effect also seen in fast radio bursts.