AAS Nova

Potential Discovery of a World Next Door JWST provides new evidence that one of our nearest neighbor stars, Alpha Centauri A, might host a giant planet in its habitable zone.

JWST provides new evidence that one of our nearest neighbor stars, Alpha Centauri A, might host a giant planet in its habitable zone. aasnova.org/2025/08/11/p... @caltech.edu #exoplanets 🔭🧪

Supermassive Black Holes and Stripped Subgiants: Significant Signals for Future Gravitational Wave Detectors When a supermassive black hole captures a significantly smaller object, the interaction could produce gravitational waves that have not yet been detected. A new study explores such events and how futu...

When a supermassive black hole captures a significantly smaller object, the interaction could produce gravitational waves that have not yet been detected. A new study explores such events and how future gravitational wave detectors may be able to feel them for years to come. 🧪🔭

Distant Little Red Dot Hosts a Huge (and Growing) Black Hole The

The “little red dot” CAPERS-LRD-z9 is the most distant object to show the characteristic broad emission lines of fast-moving gas around a black hole. aasnova.org/2025/08/06/d... 🔭🧪

What’s Going On Inside GJ 486b? Astrobites reports on a warm, rocky exoplanet and what might be hidden beneath its atmosphere.

Kaz Gary reports for @astrobites.bsky.social on a warm, rocky exoplanet and what might be hidden beneath its atmosphere. aasnova.org/2025/08/05/w... 🔭

Blown Away by the Winds of NGC 4151 New observations from the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) show the multilayered winds of NGC 4151 in a whole new light.

New observations from the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) show the multilayered winds of NGC 4151 in a whole new light. aasnova.org/2025/08/04/b... @umich.edu 🔭🧪

Get a Kick Out of This: Researchers Waited 15 Years to Measure a Neutron Star’s Journey Worth the wait: using observations separated by 15 years, researchers have clocked the speed of a neutron star flying through space and shed light on how these stellar remnants are launched by superno...

Worth the wait: using observations separated by 15 years, researchers have clocked the speed of a neutron star flying through space and shed light on how these stellar remnants are launched by supernova explosions. aasnova.org/2025/08/01/g... 🔭🧪

Monthly Roundup: Astronomy in the News Catch up on recent astronomy news: a stellar navigation experiment, a doomed planet, an icy protostar, and a mysterious radio source.

Catch up on recent astronomy news: a stellar navigation experiment, a doomed planet, an icy protostar, and a mysterious radio source. aasnova.org/2025/07/30/m... 🔭🧪

The Black Hole Tango: Kicks and Spins in Hierarchical Mergers Astrobites reports on the intricate spin distributions created by recoil kicks from merging black holes.

Viviana Cáceres reports for @astrobites.bsky.social on the intricate spin distributions created by recoil kicks from merging black holes. aasnova.org/2025/07/29/t... 🔭

Featured Image: Mother’s Day Superstorms In May 2024, the Sun put on a powerful display of solar storms, and researchers have examined the source of all this activity to understand why.

Around Mother's Day last year, the Sun put on a powerful display of solar storms, and researchers have examined the source of all this activity to understand why. aasnova.org/2025/07/28/f... 🔭🧪

Escaping the Dust Trap: Simulations of Dust Dynamics in Protoplanetary Disks The dust in protoplanetary disks is subject to complicated dynamical processes that impact planet formation. Recent simulations suggest that dust may be more freely moving within disks with planets th...

The dust in protoplanetary disks is subject to complicated dynamical processes that impact planet formation. Recent simulations suggest that this dust may be more freely moving within planet-harboring disks than previously thought. 🧪🔭 aasnova.org/2025/07/25/e...

Betelgeuse’s Companion Star May Have Been Seen at Last Finally found: using speckle imaging, researchers have spotted what is likely the predicted 1.6-solar-mass companion to the red supergiant Betelgeuse.

Finally found: using speckle imaging, researchers have spotted what is likely the predicted 1.6-solar-mass companion to the red supergiant Betelgeuse. aasnova.org/2025/07/23/b... 🔭🧪

A GLIMPSE of the First Galaxies? Astrobites reports on very deep JWST observations and the hunt for the first galaxies in the universe.

Skylar Grayson reports for @astrobites.bsky.social on very deep JWST observations and the hunt for the first galaxies in the universe. aasnova.org/2025/07/22/a... 🔭

How a Black Hole Collision Could Explain the Milky Way’s S-Stars What's responsible for the haphazard orbits of the stars closest to our galaxy's supermassive black hole? A second black hole, perhaps.

What’s responsible for the haphazard orbits of the stars closest to our galaxy’s supermassive black hole? A second black hole, perhaps. aasnova.org/2025/07/21/h... @jila.colorado.edu @colorado.edu 🔭🧪

Written in the Gas: Jet Feedback in a Voorwerp Galaxy Astrobites reports on the origins of the unusual green structure surrounding the active galaxy NGC 5972.

Shalini Kurinchi-Vendhan reports for @astrobites.bsky.social on the origins of the unusual green structure surrounding the active galaxy NGC 5972. aasnova.org/2025/07/18/w... 🔭

Astronomers Spot Possible Disk in Rubin Observatory First-Look Image One of the first-look images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory contained a rare find: a candidate circumstellar or protoplanetary disk in a region where few such disks have been discovered.

One of the first-look images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory contained a rare find: a candidate circumstellar or protoplanetary disk in a region where few such disks have been discovered. aasnova.org/2025/07/16/a... 🔭🧪

A Candidate Direct-Collapse Black Hole in the Infinity Galaxy A search for oddities in archival JWST data has turned up something remarkable: a rare pair of collisional ring galaxies that may have birthed a supermassive black hole during their clash.

A search for oddities in archival JWST data has turned up something remarkable: a rare pair of collisional ring galaxies that may have birthed a supermassive black hole during their clash. aasnova.org/2025/07/15/a... 🔭🧪

Featured Image: Low-Mass Brown Dwarfs in a Class of Their Own? JWST observations of the young star cluster IC 348 revealed extremely low-mass brown dwarfs with signatures of hydrocarbons in their spectra: meet the members of the proposed

JWST observations of the young star cluster IC 348 revealed extremely low-mass brown dwarfs with signatures of hydrocarbons in their spectra: meet the members of the proposed “H” spectral class. aasnova.org/2025/07/14/f... 🔭🧪

Double Disruption Dilemma: Exploring the Tidal Disruption Events of AT 2022dbl A recently discovered tidal disruption event has astronomers investigating new ways in which stars may be ripped apart by supermassive black holes.

A recently discovered tidal disruption event has astronomers investigating new ways in which stars may be ripped apart by supermassive black holes. aasnova.org/2025/07/11/d... 🧪🔭

Minding the Gaps in Solar Wind Data A new method for handling data with significant gaps can be applied to extremely sparse datasets, such as Voyager data from the outer heliosphere.

Spacecraft scattered throughout the solar system keep tabs on the solar wind, but the measurements are dotted with data gaps. How can scientists prevent these gaps from biasing their studies of the solar wind? aasnova.org/2025/07/09/m... @vicuniwgtn.bsky.social 🔭🧪

You Shall Not Pass! Active Galactic Nucleus Jets Through the Interstellar Medium Astrobites reports on simulations that improve our understanding of how jets from active galactic nuclei interact with the interstellar medium.

@lcgordon.bsky.social reports for @astrobites.bsky.social on simulations that improve our understanding of how jets from active galactic nuclei interact with the interstellar medium. aasnova.org/2025/07/08/y... 🔭

Exo-Saturns and Exo-Jupiters Are Within JWST’s Reach New research suggests that JWST is capable of directly imaging planets that resemble the gas giants in our solar system, provided they orbit nearby stars.

New research suggests that JWST is capable of directly imaging planets that resemble Saturn and Jupiter in orbit around nearby stars. aasnova.org/2025/07/07/e... @umich.edu 🔭🧪

Citizen Science Born in the Pandemic: The Hubble Image Similarity Project A team of citizen scientists compared 5.4 million pairs of astronomical images, helping researchers create a database of image similarity information that can be used to test image-search algorithms.

A team of citizen scientists has analyzed 5.4 million pairs of astronomical images and helped researchers create a database of image similarity information that can be used to test image-search algorithms. aasnova.org/2025/07/02/c... 🔭🧪 @stsci.edu

Giving Justice to Intermediate-Mass Black Hole Mergers Astrobites reports on how researchers are preparing for future detections of merging supermassive and intermediate-mass black holes.

Archana Aravindan reports for @astrobites.bsky.social on how researchers are preparing for future detections of merging supermassive and intermediate-mass black holes. aasnova.org/2025/07/01/g... 🔭

Featured Image: Hubble and JWST Check Up on the BOAT Gamma-Ray Burst Two powerful telescopes examined the brightest gamma-ray burst ever observed by humans, hundreds of days after the burst was first detected. What did they see?

Two powerful telescopes examined the brightest gamma-ray burst ever observed by humans, hundreds of days after the burst was first detected. What did they see? aasnova.org/2025/06/30/f... 🔭🧪

Finding Galaxies in the Dark: Using Globular Clusters to Identify Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies With their extremely low surface brightness, ultra-diffuse galaxies are very difficult to detect, but a recent study has spotted one by searching for its globular clusters.

While classic spiral and elliptical galaxies shine brightly, another class of galaxy flies under the radar. A recent study uses a new technique to search for galaxies so faint they are nearly completely dark. aasnova.org/2025/06/27/f... 🔭🧪 @uoft.bsky.social

Monthly Roundup: The Supermassive Black Hole of Messier 87 The massive nearby elliptical galaxy Messier 87 hosts one of the most-studied supermassive black holes in the universe. What have researchers recently learned about this black hole's spin, jets, and f...

The massive nearby elliptical galaxy Messier 87 hosts one of the most studied supermassive black holes in the universe. What have researchers recently learned about this black hole’s spin, jets, and flares? aasnova.org/2025/06/25/m... 🔭🧪

Duel of the Dual: The Mystery of a Quasar Pair Astrobites reports on JWST observations of a mysterious binary quasar system from cosmic noon.

Skylar Grayson reports for @astrobites.bsky.social on JWST observations of a mysterious binary quasar system from cosmic noon. aasnova.org/2025/06/24/d... 🔭

Planets Around Small Stars Even Less Likely to Have Atmospheres Than Previously Thought The troubles continue for planets around the smallest and coolest stars: new research suggests that it's even harder than previously suspected for these planets to hold on to their atmospheres.

The troubles continue for planets around the smallest and coolest stars: new research suggests that it’s even harder than previously suspected for these planets to hold on to their atmospheres. aasnova.org/2025/06/23/p... @kavlifoundation.org 🔭🧪

Thanks for asking — that will happen this summer

NCIS JWST: Analyzing the Aftermath of the Bullet Cluster’s Collision Astrobites reports on the famous Bullet Cluster — what JWST observations reveal about its complex merger history and the constraints these observations place on self-interacting dark matter.

Veronika Dornan reports for @astrobites.bsky.social on the famous Bullet Cluster — what JWST observations reveal about its complex merger history and the constraints these observations place on self-interacting dark matter. aasnova.org/2025/06/20/n... 🔭