Articles

Precise mass and radius measurements of giant planet WASP-193 b find an extremely low density of 0.059 ± 0.014 g cm⁻³. Current evolutionary models cannot fully explain such a low density, but the extended atmosphere makes WASP-193 b very suitable for high-precision characterization via JWST.

A pathway towards the formation of pyridine and (iso)quinoline, precursors to DNA and RNA, is revealed for conditions appropriate to Saturn’s moon Titan and the Taurus molecular cloud, providing insight into the synthesis of prebiotic molecules in space.

V1298 Tau b is a 20–30-Myr-old Jovian-sized planet with a haze-free, metal-poor atmosphere and a potentially hot interior. These properties suggest that V1298 Tau b formed in situ via pebble accretion and that it is still evolving and likely to become a Neptune- or sub-Neptune-sized planet.

An updated Jeans parameter that includes tidal forces can distinguish the various driving forces, both exogenous and endogenous, of atmospheric escape from low-mass close-in exoplanets. Depending on its value, escape can be dominated by tidal forces, extreme ultraviolet stellar radiation or a combination of the two.

Decametre radio observations are challenging due to the presence of the ionosphere. Here Groeneveld et al. present a strategy to correct for the ionosphere that allows them to make sharp decametre radio images from the ground with the LOFAR telescope.

Phase-resolved mid-infrared observations from JWST of the hot gas giant WASP-43b detect a day–night difference of 659 ± 19 K. Comparison with climate models shows that the observations are compatible with cloudy skies, at least on the nightside, and the lack of methane detection suggests the presence of disequilibrium chemistry.

Cassini tracking data yield a lower Love number for Titan than previous analysis. This result is compatible with a low-density internal ocean that might consist of a mix of water and ammonia.

In situ observations reveal explosive mass ejections due to magnetic reconnection in the ionosphere of Mars, with a density cavity as direct evidence. Reconnection between strong open crustal fields can rapidly eject a large amount of mass from Mars.

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.

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.

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.

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.