Gaia Data Show That the Initial Mass Function Is Not Universal
Do all clusters form stars with the same distribution of masses? Researchers have demonstrated that the initial mass function, often assumed to be universal, varies across Milky Way clusters.
Distant Galaxies: Dead or in Disguise?
Astrobites reports on whether some of the most massive galaxies in the early universe are truly quenched, or if they’re just hiding their star formation behind dust.
Using data from JWST and the Dark Energy Camera, researchers have revisited a long-standing issue with measurements of the famous Bullet Cluster.
A recent study has leveraged TESS’s full-sky coverage to build a catalog of stellar rotation periods for over a million stars.
Two More Thoughts on Little Red Dots
What’s behind the population of compact, reddish objects spotted by JWST? Two recent research articles have explored theories involving young globular clusters and little red dots with little blue companions.
Astrobites reports on the first case of a supermassive black hole discovered away from its galaxy’s center, exposed when it tore apart a star in a tidal disruption event.
Detached but Not Alone
The galaxy seems to be full of free-range Neptunes, but a closer look reveals some complicated family dynamics in planetary systems.
JWST observations serendipitously revealed new emission features from fullerenes, the largest molecules definitively detected in space.
Black Holes Reveal Their Seeds
Astrobites reports on the potential detection of intermediate-mass black holes in the early universe — signs of black holes seeded by direct collapse.