Volume 6 Issue 10, October 2022

Gamma-ray bursts are linked to the most distant objects in the Universe, but detecting them is a rare event. With a dedicated near-infrared telescope to observe in tandem with the optical Vera Rubin Observatory, ten or so high-redshift (z ≳ 6) gamma-ray bursts could potentially be detected every year.

In-person and online conferences each have their benefits, with hybrid conferences intended to blend the best of both worlds. But do hybrid conferences fulfil the promise? Fifteen attendees across three global conferences share their collective experiences.

How does one maintain a personal professional identity while part of a large collaboration in which everything is a team effort? Tensions will undoubtedly arise, but among the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, at least, they are resolved as one would handle family dynamics.

The European Astronomical Society (EAS) awarded its most prestigious prizes during its annual meeting held in Valencia, Spain. After two virtual meetings, astronomers attended in-person or watched some of the sessions remotely.

Surface-energy effects, such as the Kelvin effect, that regulate the formation of ice determine the observed abundance, distribution and evolution of CO in protoplanetary disks.

A non-accreting and non-beaming neutron star in a close binary is discovered and characterized by modelling the observed periodic variabilities in the visible companion star. This neutron star belongs to an abundant but less-explored population that cannot be seen with popular techniques such as X-ray and gamma-ray observations.

Light pollution is a growing problem affecting the night sky. This Review takes a comprehensive look at the factors contributing to elevated brightness at night, the measurement techniques and the ongoing assessment of sky quality.

Mars hosted hundreds of lakes, most of which formed earlier than 3.7 billion years ago and lasted only a limited amount of time. This overview of their characteristics and mineralogy highlights the importance of the Martian lakes as a record of ancient climate and potential for biogenesis.

A model of CO ice formation in protoplanetary disks shows that surface energy effects, such as the Kelvin effect, in ice nucleation and condensation must be considered to reproduce the observed distribution, abundances and evolution of gaseous CO.

A close look at microcraters on a lunar grain from a Chang’e-5 returned sample shows evidence of the formation of nanophase metallic iron (np-Fe⁰) via disproportionation of Fe²⁺ triggered by secondary impacts, with no space weathering contribution from the solar wind.

The sample taken from carbonaceous asteroid Ryugu and brought back to Earth by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft contains outer Solar System-derived materials uncontaminated by terrestrial processes. Even CI carbonaceous chondrites, despite their closeness to solar abundances, are not pristine.

About 0.5% by volume of the Ryugu particle C0009 is made up of anhydrous silicates, mostly olivines, despite the extensive aqueous alteration of its parent body. Such aggregates, rich in ¹⁶O, were present in Ryugu’s protolith and survived fluid activity.

The Galactic Centre should host up to 10% of the newest stars in the Galaxy, but the only two known young star clusters in the Galactic Centre account for less than 10% of this expected mass. A high-angular-resolution near-infrared survey of the Sgr B1 region finds another 25% of the expected mass of very young stars.

A new selection method is used to obtain a sample of dual/lensed active galactic nuclei (AGN) candidates with sub-arcsec separations from Gaia data. This substantially increases the known number of dual AGNs, with implications for studies of in-spiralling supermassive black holes.

Spectropolarimetric observations of three tidal disruption events reveal that they are optically polarized at the 1–2% level by a cloud of electrons surrounding the black hole (in good agreement with theory).

A neutron star candidate in a close binary has been discovered using a radial velocity method and characterized with a variety of ground- and space-based telescopes. The system probably represents an underexplored population of non-accreting and/or non-beaming neutron stars.

SPRITE will map ionized gas emission from supernova remnants and ionizing radiation escape from local galaxies.