A Surprise in Cygnus
A new survey revealed for the first time that Deneb, the 19th brightest star in the night sky, is not just a variable star but a polarimetric variable as well.
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New Analysis Finds No Evidence for Tryptophan in Interstellar Cloud
Was an amino acid found in the interstellar medium at last, as reported last year? New research suggests that the search isn’t over yet.
Stars on the Run
New research uses ultra-precise measurements from the Gaia spacecraft to track down and study runaway stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud.
Monthly Roundup: Where Elements Are Made
Three recent articles examine the making of heavy elements in supernovae, collapsars, and neutron star mergers.
JWST Spies a Debris Disk
JWST has detected a faint debris disk surrounding the M-dwarf star Fomalhaut C, marking just the fifth scattered-light debris disk detected around an M dwarf.
Modeling the Unknown: A New Tool for Radio Bursts
How do you model an observation when you aren’t sure of its source? Radio astronomers have a new answer to that question: a tool called “fitburst.”
Seeking the Sources of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays
New research examines whether the sources of the highest-energy photons could also be the sources of the highest-energy charged particles.
Probing for Rocks in an Ice Giant’s Core
How much of Uranus’s icy core is made of rock? Researchers propose a new method to make this measurement using a probe of the Uranian atmosphere.
Studying a Guest Star’s Annual Appearances
With T Coronae Borealis expected to rise to naked-eye visibility any day now, recurrent novae are in the news. To learn more about these events, check out today’s article about a recurrent nova in a neighboring galaxy.
Huge Survey vs. Tiny Space Junk
One of the largest surveys of the sky is about to begin. But will tiny bits of space junk doom its carefully laid plans even before the first images are taken?