AAS NOVA — Research Highlights 2017

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Thu Nov 09, 2017 2:59 pm

Carrying Energy to the Corona with Waves
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Nov 08

The solar corona has a problem: it’s weirdly hot! A new study explores how magnetic waves might solve the mystery of the unusually hot corona by transporting energy to the outer atmosphere of the Sun. ...

On Excited Frequencies for Alfvén Waves in a Coronal Arcade - Lucas A Tarr

Astrophysical Journal 847(1):1 (20 Sep 2017) DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aa880a
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1709.03446 > 11 Sep 2017

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Sat Nov 18, 2017 2:17 pm

A Look at the Milky Way’s Outskirts
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Nov 15

Studying the large-scale structure of the Milky Way is difficult given that we’re stuck in its interior — which means we can’t step back for a broad overview of our home. Instead, a recent study uses distant variable stars to map out a picture of what’s happening in the outskirts of our galaxy. ...

The Outer Halo of the Milky Way as Probed by RR Lyr Variables from the Palomar Transient Facility - Judith G. Cohen et al

Astrophysical Journal 849(2):150 (2017 Nov 10) DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aa9120
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1710.01276 > 03 Oct 2017

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Sat Nov 18, 2017 2:23 pm

LIGO Finds Lightest Black-Hole Binary
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Nov 17

Wednesday evening the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration quietly mentioned that they’d found gravitational waves from yet another black-hole binary back in June. This casual announcement reveals what is so far the lightest pair of black holes we’ve watched merge — opening the door for comparisons to the black holes we’ve detected by electromagnetic means. ...

GW170608: Observation of a 19-solar-mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence - LIGO Scientific Collaboration, Virgo Collaboration

arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1711.05578 > 15 Nov 2017

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=37766

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Wed Nov 22, 2017 2:50 pm

Kepler Planets Tend to Have Siblings of the Same Size
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Nov 20

After 8.5 years of observations with the Kepler space observatory, we’ve discovered a large number of close-in, tightly-spaced, multiple-planet systems orbiting distant stars. In the process, we’ve learned a lot about the properties about these systems — and discovered some unexpected behavior. A new study explores one of the properties that has surprised us: planets of the same size tend to live together. ...

Kepler Multi-Planet Systems Exhibit Unexpected Intra-System Uniformity
in Mass and Radius - Sarah Millholland, Songhu Wang, Gregory Laughlin

Astrophysical Journal Letters 849(2):L33 (2017 Nov 10) DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/aa9714
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1710.11152 > 30 Oct 2017

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Sun Nov 26, 2017 4:00 pm

Analog of the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Nov 22

A hunt for merging dwarf galaxies has yielded an intriguing result: 180 million light-years away, a galaxy very similar to the Milky Way — with two dwarf-galaxy satellites just like our own Magellanic clouds. ...

UGC 4703 Interacting Pair Near the Isolated Spiral Galaxy NGC 2718:
A Milky Way Magellanic Cloud Analog - Sanjaya Paudel, Chandreyee Sengupta

Astrophysical Journal Letters 849(2):L28 (2017 Nov 10) DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/aa95bf
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1710.09040 > 25 Oct 2017

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 5:30 pm

Are Spinning Black Holes Louder?
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Nov 29

Some distant active galaxies are louder in radio wavelengths than others. A new study explores whether this difference could be due to how quickly the supermassive black holes at their centers are spinning. ...

Evidence for Higher Black Hole Spin in Radio-loud Quasars - Andreas Schulze et al

Astrophysical Journal 849(1):4 (01 Nov 2017) DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aa9181
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1710.01440 > 04 Oct 2017 (v1), 05 Oct 2017 (v2)

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:31 pm

A Shifting Shield Provides Protection Against Cosmic Rays
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 01

The Sun plays an important role in protecting us from cosmic rays, energetic particles that pelt us from outside our solar system. But can we predict when and how it will provide the most protection, and use this to minimize the damage to both piloted and robotic space missions? ...

Evidence for a Time Lag in Solar Modulation of Galactic Cosmic Rays - Nicola Tomassetti et al

Astrophysical Journal Letters 849(2):L32 (2017 Nov 10) DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/aa9373
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1707.06916 > 21 Jul 2017 (v1), 08 Nov 2017 (v3)

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:37 pm

Smashing a Jet into a Cloud to Form Stars
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 04

What happens when the highly energetic jet from the center of an active galaxy rams into surrounding clouds of gas and dust? A new study explores whether this might be a way to form stars. ...

Numerical Simulations of a Jet–Cloud Collision and Starburst: Application to Minkowski's Object - P. Chris Fragile et al

Astrophysical Journal 850(2):171 (2017 Dec 01) DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aa95c6
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1701.00024 > 30 Dec 2016 (v1), 26 Oct 2017 (v2)

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:46 pm

Exploring Our Galaxy’s Thick Disk
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 06

What is the structure of the Milky Way’s disk, and how did it form? A new study uses giant stars to explore these questions. ...

The Evolution of the Galactic Thick Disk with the LAMOST Survey - Chengdong Li, Gang Zhao

Astrophysical Journal 850(1):25 (2017 Nov 20) DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aa93f4

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Tue Dec 12, 2017 4:57 pm

Which of Kepler’s Stars Flare?
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 08

The habitability of distant exoplanets is dependent upon many factors — one of which is the activity of their host stars. To learn about which stars are most likely to flare, a recent study examines tens of thousands of stellar flares observed by Kepler. ...

Stellar Flares Observed in Long-Cadence Data from the Kepler Mission - Tom Van Doorsselaere, Hoda Shariati, Jonas Debosscher

Astrophysical Journal Supplement 232(2):26 (Oct 2017) DOI: 10.3847/1538-4365/aa8f9a
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1711.02587 > 07 Nov 2017

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Fri Dec 15, 2017 4:44 pm

Star-Forming Clouds Feed, Churn, and Fall
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 13

Molecular clouds, the birthplaces of stars in galaxies throughout the universe, are complicated and dynamic environments. A new series of simulations has explored how these clouds form, grow, and collapse over their lifetimes. ...

Feeding versus Falling: The Growth and Collapse of Molecular Clouds in a Turbulent Interstellar Medium - Juan C. Ibáñez-Mejía et al

Astrophysical Journal 850(1):62 (2017 Nov 20) DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aa93fe
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1705.01779 > 04 May 2017

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Sun Dec 17, 2017 5:30 pm

More Planets in the Hyades Cluster
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 15

A few weeks ago, Astrobites reported on a Neptune-sized planet discovered orbiting a star in the Hyades cluster. A separate study submitted at the same time, however, reveals that there may be even more planets lurking in this system.

Zodiacal Exoplanets in Time (ZEIT). VI. A Three-Planet System
in the Hyades Cluster Including an Earth-sized Planet - Andrew W. Mann et al

Astronomical Journal 155(1):4 (2018 Jan) DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/aa9791
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1709.10328 > 29 Sep 2017 (v1), 06 Nov 2017 (v2)

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 4:18 pm

Computers Help Us Map Our Home
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 18

A sample of RR Lyrae variable stars was built from the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) survey by a team led by Branimir Sesar (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany). The sample of 45,000 stars represents the widest (three-fourths of the sky) and deepest (reaching 120 kpc) sample of RR Lyrae stars to date. ...

Machine-Learned Identification of RR Lyrae Stars from Sparse, Multi-band Data: the PS1 Sample - Branimir Sesar et al

Astronomical Journal 153(5):204 (2017 May) DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/aa661b
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1611.08596 > 25 Nov 2016 (v1), 07 Mar 2017 (v2)

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 4:24 pm

Hostile Environment Around TRAPPIST-1
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 19

Models of the magnetic environment surrounding the seven planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system suggest that this is not a pleasant place to be for life. In particular, the simulations run by Cecilia Garraffo (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) and collaborators indicate that all planets in the system are bombarded by a stellar wind with a pressure that’s 1,000 to 100,000 times the pressure of what we experience on Earth.

The Threatening Magnetic and Plasma Environment of the TRAPPIST-1 Planets - Cecilia Garraffo et al

Astrophysical Journal Letters 843(2):L33 (2017 Jul 10) DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/aa79ed
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1706.04617 > 14 Jun 2017

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?p=272937#p272937

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 4:31 pm

Mapping the Universe with SDSS-IV
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 20

The incredibly prolific Sloan Digital Sky Survey has provided photometric observations of around 500 million objects and spectra for more than 3 million objects. The survey has now entered its fourth iteration, SDSS-IV, with the first public data release made in June 2016. A publication led by Michael Blanton (New York University) describes the facilities used for SDSS-IV, its science goals, and its three core programs.

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe - Michael R. Blanton et al

Astronomical Journal 154(1):28 (2017 Jul) DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/aa7567
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1703.00052 > 28 Feb 2017 (v1), 29 Jun 2017 (v2)

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 4:35 pm

Atmosphere Around an Earth-Like Planet
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 21

An atmosphere was detected around the roughly Earth-size exoplanet GJ 1132 b using a telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. A team of scientists led by John Southworth (Keele University) found features indicating the presence of an atmosphere in the observations of this 1.6-Earth-mass planet as it transits an M-dwarf host star. This is the lowest-mass planet with a detected atmosphere thus far.

Detection of the Atmosphere of the 1.6 M_⊕ Exoplanet GJ 1132 b - John Southworth et al

Astronomical Journal 153(4):191 (Apr 2017) DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/aa6477
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1612.02425 > 07 Dec 2016 (v1), 06 Apr 2017 (v2)

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=37050

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 7:19 pm

Image Processing with AstroImageJ
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 26

AstroImageJ is a new integrated software package presented in a publication led by Karen Collins (Vanderbilt University, Fisk University, and University of Louisville). It enables new users — even at the level of undergraduate student, high school student, or amateur astronomer — to quickly start processing, modeling, and plotting astronomical image data.

AstroImageJ: Image Processing and Photometric Extraction for Ultra-Precise Astronomical Light Curves - Karen A. Collins et al

Astronomical Journal 153(2):77 (2017 Feb) DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/153/2/77
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1701.04817 > 17 Jan 2017

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 7:23 pm

Discoveries in Titan’s Atmosphere
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 27

In a recently published study led by Ravi Desai (University College London), scientists used data from the Cassini mission to identify negatively charged molecules known as “carbon chain anions” in the atmosphere of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.

Carbon Chain Anions and the Growth of Complex Organic Molecules in Titan's Ionosphere - R. T. Desai et al

Astrophysical Journal Letters 844(2):L18 (2017 Aug 01) DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/aa7851
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1706.01610 > 06 Jun 2017

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=37426#p273355

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 7:39 pm

Hubble Survey Explores Distant Galaxies
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 28

A publication led by Hooshang Nayyeri (UC Irvine and UC Riverside) early this year details a catalog of sources built using the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS), a survey carried out by cameras on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The catalog lists the properties of ~38,000 distant galaxies visible within the COSMOS field, a two-square-degree equatorial field explored in depth to answer cosmological questions.

CANDELS Multi-Wavelength Catalogs: Source Detection and Photometry in the CANDELS COSMOS Survey Field - H. Nayyeri et al

Astrophysical Journal Supplement 228(1):7 (2017 Jan) DOI: 10.3847/1538-4365/228/1/7
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1612.07364 > 21 Dec 2016

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=32029

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 7:50 pm

The Age of a 4-Star System
NOVA | American Astronomical Society | 2017 Dec 29

Two scientists from the University of Delaware, James MacDonald and Dermott Mullan, recently derived the age of the quadruple star system KIC 7177553. The system appears to be younger than originally thought — it’s best modeled as being 32–36 million years old.

The Age of the KIC 7177553 System - James MacDonald, D. J. Mullan

Astrophysical Journal 834(2):99 (2017 Jan 10) DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/834/2/99
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1609.00942 > 04 Sep 2016

KIC 7177553: A Quadruple System of Two Close Binaries - H. Lehmann et al

Astrophysical Journal 819(1):33 (2016 Mar 01) DOI: 10.3847/0004-637X/819/1/33
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1601.02926 > 12 Jan 2016