M. Kounkel et al 2016 ApJ 821 52
NIR Hubble observations of Orion molecular clouds reveal that the fraction of stars with 100-1000 AU companions is ~50% higher in the high-stellar-density regions, relative to the low-density regions.
P. Narayana Bhat et al 2016 ApJS 223 28
The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor locates an average of ~2 gamma-ray burst events every 3 days. The catalog of these events, spanning 2008 to 2014, contains 1405 triggers identified as GRBs.
B. Quarles and Jack J. Lissauer 2016 AJ 151 111
Stability calculations show that planets within the habitable zone of either α Cen A or α Cen B — the binary components of the nearest star system to us — are able to remain in circumstellar orbit.
V. Jithesh and Zhongxiang Wang 2016 ApJ 821 24
15 new transient X-ray sources are observed in the nearby galaxy NGC 55, tentatively thought to include 1 low-mass and 6 high-mass x-ray binaries, 6 super soft sources, and 1 active galactic nucleus.
Sivan Ginzburg et al 2016 ApJ 822 L11
The effective blackbody temperature of a planet (such as the hypothetical Planet Nine) can be used to estimate the mass of its atmosphere, helping us to identify a gas-rich vs. mainly rocky/icy planet.
Neil Gehrels et al 2016 ApJ 820 136
Considering only the brightest galaxies for gravitational-wave follow-up will reduce the number of galaxies that must be searched to ~10-20 per detection, based on advanced LIGO’s localization abilities.