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The discovery of a prominent spectral absorption line in X-rays in an ultra-luminous X-ray source is perhaps indicative of the presence of very intense magnetic fields and hints to a magnetar as its power source.
Gravitational lensing is becoming increasingly important to the study of distant galaxies and dark matter. Two groups have recently detected transient events emanating from far-away lensed galaxies, apparently due to extreme magnification of individual stars.
Using evolving observing strategies and technologies we are catching supernovae closer and closer to the ‘b’ of the ‘bang’, thus unveiling new types of explosion mechanism that have not been studied in depth before.
Feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) remains controversial despite its wide acceptance as necessary to regulate massive galaxy growth. Consequently, we held a workshop in October 2017, at Leiden’s Lorentz Center, to distinguish between the reality and myths of feedback.
A peak in the infrared phase curve occurring after eclipse suggests a westward shift in the dayside hotspot of hot giant exoplanet CoRoT-2b, calling into question our understanding of atmospheric dynamics on hot gas giants.
A new geochemical study shows that short-lived warm and wet episodes during a globally cold early Mars could have formed the clay deposits detected on the Martian surface. This model can reconcile climate models with mineralogical and geomorphological evidence.
One of the astrophysical sources that gives rise to the mysterious transients known as fast radio bursts is embedded in a highly magnetized environment, such as the vicinity of an accreting massive black hole or the birth nebula of a highly magnetized neutron star.
The only known planet whose densest part of the ionosphere is dominated by oxygen ions is Earth. The authors argue that this state is strictly related to the presence of photosynthesis. Ionospheric O+ can thus be used as a biomarker for exoplanets.
Observations and thermal models of the first interstellar visitor 1I/‘Oumuamua show that ices could have survived a long interstellar journey, suggesting the possibility that ‘Oumuamua could be a comet.
Newly measured proper motions of a dozen stars in the Sculptor dwarf galaxy provide important insight into its distribution of dark matter. This result was made possible by combining measurements of star positions from Hubble Space Telescope and Gaia data.
New spacecraft measurements show that the dust cycle plays a key role in driving upward transport of water vapour in the atmosphere of Mars and, consequently, Martian water loss to space.
The East Asia Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (EAVN) consists of 21 radio telescopes whose equipment and frequency setup allow fine imaging of jets in active galaxies, high-accuracy astrometry of masers and pulsars, and spacecraft positioning.
A study suggests that the gas clouds in the vicinity of rapidly accreting supermassive black holes are distributed in a planar distribution, impacting the estimation of the mass of the black hole based on the motion of these clouds.
Long-term multi-wavelength monitoring of a jet from a supermassive black hole reveals that more intense periods of variability in brightness occur when the jet is pointed more directly at Earth, thereby strengthening the geometric interpretation of long-term changes in brightness.
The Antikythera Mechanism is the oldest known mechanical calculator. Imaging reveals its solar and lunar astronomical functions, and deciphering its extensive inscriptions shows that it displayed the shifting position of the planets in the zodiac.
On the 50th anniversary of the discovery of pulsars Jocelyn Bell Burnell reflects on their detection, our current understanding of these stars and the new era of discovery ushered in by next-generation radio observatories.
Orbiting supermassive black holes in the centres of nearby galaxies contribute to a gravitational-wave background over the whole sky. Networks of millisecond pulsars are sensitive to this signal. Creating maps of this background using information from known galaxies can help us to project when (and how) we may observe it.
