Explaining the Birth of the Martian Moons
Were Mars’s two moons once main-belt asteroids, now captured into orbit? Or were they created when a large body slammed into Mars?
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Colliding Neutron Stars as the Source of Heavy Elements
Where do the heavy elements — the chemical elements beyond iron — in our universe come from? The mergers of neutron stars could be responsible.
An Ocean of Magma
When rocky exoplanets form, they are initially believed to have molten surfaces. Astrobites reports on how this ocean of magma could affect a planet’s atmosphere.
Building an Unusual White-Dwarf Duo
Could a white-dwarf duo have formed from a trio of main-sequence stars? Scientists explore the birth of an unusual binary system.
Update On the Puzzling Boyajian’s Star
What’s causing the mysterious light-curve dips of the so-called “alien megastructure” star? Here are a few of the latest possible explanations.
Are Stellar Storms Bad News for M-Dwarf Planets?
M dwarfs like V374 Peg or even the nearby Proxima Centauri are likely to have major stellar storms. What impact could this activity have on planets in the stars’ habitable zones?
Making of an Active Galactic Nucleus
Astrobites reports on recent simulations studying how the extremely powerful, active centers of some galaxies might have formed.
Featured Image: Hubble’s New Views of Debris Disks
Hubble’s STIS instrument has made several new observations of debris disks around three nearby solar-analog stars.
Building Up the Milky Way’s Skeleton
A new study has used a computer algorithm to uncover many of the bones that make up the skeleton of the Milky Way.
WISE-ing Up to Broken Planets
Astrobites reports on the discovery of a debris disc strewn around a white dwarf star — all that is now left of what was once likely a planetary system.
Through the Lenses of Black Holes
Astrobites reports on a solution to the tricky process of looking for something you can’t see — like isolated black holes.
Rings from Close Encounters
Minor planets Chariklo and Chiron were recently discovered to have ring systems. Could they have formed when the minor planets got a little too close to a giant?