Astrobites

Cosmic Dawn at the Galaxy Zoo Citizen scientists can make important contributions to the study of galaxies (like the discovery of new gravitational lenses!), and their work can also be used to train better machine learning models.

From Anavi Uppal @anaviuppal.bsky.social : Citizen scientists can make important contributions to the study of galaxies (like the discovery of new gravitational lenses!), and their work can also be used to train better machine learning models. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/12/03/g...

[Beyond] Intro to Astrophysical Simulation Jargon This Beyond post will go through the basics of numeric simulation jargon with diagrams and examples to help you get moving in astrophysical simulations.

From Lindsey Gordon @lcgordon.bsky.social : This Beyond post will go through the basics of numeric simulation jargon with diagrams and examples to help you get moving in astrophysical simulations. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/12/02/a...

Book Review: Space Hazards: Asteroids, Solar Flares and Cosmic Threats French’s new book seperates real cosmic dangers from exaggerated ones, offering a grounded guide to the threats above our planet.

From Niloofar Sharei @astroneal.bsky.social : French’s new book separates real cosmic dangers from exaggerated ones, offering a grounded guide to the threats above our planet. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/12/01/b...

Bumpy Road Ahead: Can Binary Interactions Make Supernovae Periodically Brighter? Astrobites reports on simulations that explore whether a baby neutron star repeatedly diving into the envelope of its inflated companion star could be the cause of bumpy supernova light curves.

Ryan White reports for @astrobites.bsky.social on simulations that explore whether a baby neutron star repeatedly diving into the envelope of its inflated companion star could be the cause of bumpy supernova light curves. aasnova.org/2025/12/02/b... 🔭

The snack that fights back Today’s bite explores how munching on tiny black holes can lead stars to an early demise.

From Alexandra Masegian @spiralgalexy.bsky.social : Today’s bite explores how munching on tiny black holes can lead stars to an early demise. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/29/t...

Satellite constellations will harm Rubin LSST science. What can we do? Astronomers (and one SpaceX engineer) met at a three-day workshop to figure out how to prevent satellites from obstructing LSST science.

From Anavi Uppal @anaviuppal.bsky.social : Astronomers (and one SpaceX engineer) met at a three-day workshop to figure out how to prevent satellites from obstructing LSST science. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/28/l...

Black Holes Reveal their Seeds Astronomers have spent decades searching for seeds of the earliest black holes. Did JWST just glimpse the very first ones?

From Ansh Gupta: Astronomers have spent decades searching for seeds of the earliest black holes. Did JWST just glimpse the very first ones? ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/27/g...

Not-So Standard Candles: How a Bias in Distance Calculations Impacts Our Understanding of Dark Energy Today's paper explores how a potential bias in the way we calculate the distance to galaxies impacts our understanding of dark energy.

From Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social : Today’s paper explores how a potential bias in the way we calculate the distance to galaxies impacts our understanding of dark energy. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/26/s...

Astronomers Hate Them! This Star Formation Ingredient Makes Clusters Look 300 Million Years Older Like a bouncer at a nightclub, JWST is trying to figure out if some star clusters are really as old as they say they are ...

From Veronika Dornan @dornanv.bsky.social : Like a bouncer at a nightclub, JWST is trying to figure out if some star clusters are really as old as they say they are… ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/25/s...

The Times They Are A-Changin’: Searching for Shifts in Variable Star Light Curves Astrobites reports on efforts to understand how the variability of certain variable stars changes over time.

@catieslaughts.bsky.social reports for @astrobites.bsky.social on efforts to understand how the variability of certain variable stars changes over time. 🧪🔭

Strength in Numbers: How Cloud Communities Weather Galactic Storms Classic theory says only big clouds should survive galactic winds, but these new simulations show that’s not the whole story. Whether a cloud lives or dies depends not only on its size, but also on th...

From Sandy Chiu: Classic theory says only big clouds should survive galactic winds, but these new simulations show that’s not the whole story. Whether a cloud lives or dies depends not only on its size, but also on the environment it’s sitting in. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/24/c...

Bringing the Sun to Us Today’s authors created a Sun-like plasma in a lab to study the Sun’s interior from Earth.

From Annelia Anderson @astroannelia.bsky.social : Today’s authors created a Sun-like plasma in a lab to study the Sun’s interior from Earth. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/22/b...

Spinning into the merging binary black hole family tree Do black holes have a family tree? Read more in today's bite!

From Neev Shah @neevshah101.bsky.social : Do black holes have a family tree? Read more in today’s bite! ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/21/g...

Dust in the Wind: A New Tool for Understanding Galactic Outflows The galaxy M82 is host to an extended multiphase wind driven by star formation. Today's paper attempts to use JWST observations of dust in the wind to understand the structure of its cooler gas.

From Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social : The galaxy M82 is host to an extended multiphase wind driven by star formation. Today’s paper attempts to use JWST observations of dust in the wind to understand the structure of its cooler gas. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/20/m...

A New Kind of Radio Lighthouse We've known about pulsars for more than fifty years, but what about other kinds of repeating radio sources? Learn how this white dwarf binary might be the first peek into a new class of radio lighthou...

From Will Golay: We’ve known about pulsars for more than fifty years, but what about other kinds of repeating radio sources? Learn how this white dwarf binary might be the first peek into a new class of radio lighthouses! ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/19/a...

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons This image of Centaurus A shows a spectacular new view of a supermassive black hole's power. Jets and lobes powered by the central black hole in this nearby galaxy are shown by submillimeter data (colored orange) from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope in Chile and X-ray data (colored blue) from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Visible light data from the Wide Field Imager on the Max-Planck/ESO 2.2 m telescope, also located in Chile, shows the dust lane in the galaxy and background stars. The X-ray jet in the upper left extends for about 13,000 light years away from the black hole. The APEX data shows that material in the jet is travelling at about half the speed of light.

In today’s ep, we celebrate our glorious return from hiatus by tackling black holes in weird places. Shashank covers a lot of acronyms for BHs on top of other BHs, while Cormac does his 2nd Astrobite with a sausage in the title, establishing a worrying precedent.
astrosoundbites.com/2025/11/21/e...

Burning up for your LEOve: Satellites and Atmospheric Pollution Today’s paper reveals how atmospheric re-entry is not an end-all, be-all solution for cleaning up satellites from low earth orbit.

From Magnus L'Argent: Today’s paper reveals how atmospheric re-entry is not an end-all, be-all solution for cleaning up satellites from low earth orbit. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/18/s...

Building Cradles for Massive Black Hole Seeds Astronomers have observations of red active galactic nuclei and theories of massive black holes, but are these connected? Read more in today's bite!

From Brandon Pries: Astronomers have observations of red active galactic nuclei and theories of massive black holes, but are these connected? Read more in today’s bite! ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/17/l...

Do X-Rays Help or Hurt Massive Black Hole Formation? Astrobites reports on how X-rays influenced the formation of the first massive black holes in the universe.

Brandon Pries reports for @astrobites.bsky.social on how X-rays influenced the formation of the first massive black holes in the universe. aasnova.org/2025/11/17/d... 🔭

What can ionised bubbles tell us about the expansion of the universe? Early galaxies create bubbles of ionised gas around them. Measuring their sizes could provide key insights into cosmology.

From Nathalie Korhonen Cuestas: Early galaxies create bubbles of ionised gas around them. Measuring their sizes could provide key insights into cosmology. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/15/b...

Detecting new icy molecules around a newly-forming star with JWST Today's astrobite looks at some interesting new detections of complex organic molecules by a protostar in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

From Caroline von Raesfeld: Today’s astrobite looks at some interesting new detections of complex organic molecules by a protostar in the Large Magellanic Cloud. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/14/i...

Three Supermassive Black Holes for the Price of One in the Early Universe Today's paper looks at a gaalxy hosting not one...not two...but three potential supermassive black holes!

From Drew Lapeer @giantmolecular.cloud : Today’s paper looks at a galaxy hosting not one…not two…but three potential supermassive black holes! ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/13/d...

Don’t Like Your Neutrino Flavor? Transform It! Neutron stars are some of the densest, most exotic objects in the universe. Today’s paper explores how simulating novel neutrino physics affects the outcome of neutron star mergers.

From Kylee Carden: Neutron stars are some of the densest, most exotic objects in the universe. Today’s paper explores how simulating novel neutrino physics affects the outcome of neutron star mergers. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/12/n...

Do You Have This Andromeda Galaxy in Extra-Extra-Extra Small? Astrobites reports on the discovery of the faintest galaxy in the Andromeda system, Pegasus VII.

Veronika Dornan reports for @astrobites.bsky.social on the discovery of the faintest galaxy in the Andromeda system, Pegasus VII. aasnova.org/2025/11/12/d... 🔭

Ia’m Just Getting Started: A Type Ia Supernova’s First Day See how astronomers trace a type Ia supernova's "first steps" back to its origin.

From Mckenzie Ferrari: See how astronomers trace a type Ia supernova’s “first steps” back to its origin. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/11/t...

Fast metal factories at z ~ 5, lessons from ALPINE-CRISTAL-JWST JWST reveals galaxies that built up heavy elements at record speed, reaching near-modern metallicities only a billion years after the Big Bang.

From Niloofar Sharei @astroneal.bsky.social : JWST reveals galaxies that built up heavy elements at record speed, reaching near-modern metallicities only a billion years after the Big Bang. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/10/f...

A Week Down Under, Unifying Theorists and Observers of the High-Redshift Universe Today's bite comes to your screen direct from the "Exploring the first billion years of the Universe" conference in Australia. Read on to find out what we've already discovered about the early Univers...

Today’s bite comes to your screen direct from the “Exploring the first billion years of the Universe” conference in Australia. Read on to find out what we’ve already discovered about the early Universe, and what’s still to come. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/08/h...

A Triple Black Hole System Caught in the Act of Self-Quenching Three active black holes, tangled jets, and fading light. This galaxy merger is a cosmic drama in action.

From Sowkhya Shanbhog @chaotic-cosmos.bsky.social : Three active black holes, tangled jets, and fading light. This galaxy merger is a cosmic drama in action. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/07/t...

Teegarden’s Star b: (Almost) Too Hot to Handle? Teegarden's Star b is a promising Earth-like planet, but future observations could change our view on its ability to support life.

From Mckenzie Ferrari: Teegarden’s Star b is a promising Earth-like planet, but future observations could change our view on its ability to support life. ⚛️🔭☄🧪
astrobites.org/2025/11/06/r...

This week, NSF added *another* bizarre requirement: Now, applicants must submit official transcripts. The original solicitation -- as in past years -- permitted students to submit *un*official transcripts, which was free for applicants and far simpler.

We'll update our Bite accordingly.