RNO 54, an isolated young stellar object with a comet-like nebula, has been found to belong to the rare class of FU Orionis stars, which have bright infrared and millimeter emission.
JWST’s sensitive near-infrared camera failed to detect the planet candidate Fomalhaut b, supporting the conclusion that this object is instead a dust cloud; follow-up observations will investigate a new planet candidate.
What do cerium atoms have to do with collisions of neutron stars? Researchers have confirmed that several absorption features in the spectrum of a kilonova observed in 2017 were due to this element.
Light from ionized carbon atoms reveals the workings of productive star-forming regions in a starburst galaxy; these observations illuminate the processes of stellar feedback and reveal a hidden star-forming region.
Given the difficulties of differentiating signs of extraterrestrial life from signals due to unknown physics or chemistry, it may be beneficial to seek signs of life in arenas where we’re most knowledgeable.
Observations of the Crab Nebula, the “standard candle” of gamma-ray astronomy, suggest that the prototype of a next-generation ground-based gamma-ray telescope is working as expected.