Finding the Best Wavelengths to Study the Sun’s Magnetic Field
Scientists have taken stock of the Sun’s many spectral lines to find the best way to measure its magnetic field — key to understanding a wide range of explosive phenomena.
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How Quickly Do We Need to Track Down the Next Neutron Star Merger?
When gravitational waves from colliding neutron stars rumbled through our detectors in 2017, astronomers raced to track down the light emitted in the collision — but caught critical wavelengths too late to distinguish between competing theories.
Bangs Without Flashes: Gravitational Waves and Elusive Neutrinos
Astronomers can learn much from gravitational waves and high-energy neutrinos separately, but could gain much more if both were ever spotted together emanating from the same source. A new publication the Astrophysical Journal summarizes ongoing efforts to do just that.
Hot Days and Cloudy Nights on a “Heavy Metal” Exoplanet
A well-known hot Jupiter exoplanet gets a new phase curve thanks to JWST, and the results support the hypothesis that this scorching planet has metallic clouds.
A Fresh Look at Kepler-444’s Ancient Planetary System
A research team tackles a complex three-star, five-planet system and finds evidence for a dustier protoplanetary disk than previously thought.
New Phenomena on the Quiet Sun
Step aside, solar flares: two recent research articles explore the Sun when it’s at its calmest and find that there’s plenty to discover.
A New Spider Joins a Deadly Club
Arachnophobes, take notice: another black widow pulsar has been spotted hunting in the night.
Black Holes as the Source of Dark Energy
New research suggests that as our universe expands, black holes gain mass, and this connection between black holes and the universe’s expansion is the source of dark energy.
First Look at Extragalactic Cepheid Variable Stars with JWST
Certain variable stars provide a way for us to measure the distances to nearby galaxies, and JWST will allow us to monitor these stars with greater precision.
Are Dusty Galaxies Getting in the Way of High-Redshift Studies?
JWST has observed many galaxies that researchers believe are from the first 500 million years after the Big Bang, but dusty interlopers might be skewing our perception of this important period in our universe’s history.