What do cerium atoms have to do with collisions of neutron stars? Researchers have confirmed that several absorption features in the spectrum of a kilonova observed in 2017 were due to this element.
Light from ionized carbon atoms reveals the workings of productive star-forming regions in a starburst galaxy; these observations illuminate the processes of stellar feedback and reveal a hidden star-forming region.
Given the difficulties of differentiating signs of extraterrestrial life from signals due to unknown physics or chemistry, it may be beneficial to seek signs of life in arenas where we’re most knowledgeable.
Observations of the Crab Nebula, the “standard candle” of gamma-ray astronomy, suggest that the prototype of a next-generation ground-based gamma-ray telescope is working as expected.
After researchers crashed a spacecraft into it in September 2022, the Didymos–Dimorphos binary system showed a lower degree of polarization for months.
A new database will aid in the study of presolar grains, which are formed during the late stages of stellar evolution and give a detailed look at the history of local stellar nucleosynthesis.