Highlights from AAS Nova: 24 January - 6 February 2016

AAS Nova provides brief highlights of recently published articles from the AAS journals, i.e., the Astronomical Journal (AJ) and the Astrophysical Journal (ApJ), ApJ Letters, and ApJ Supplements. The website's intent is to gain broader exposure for AAS authors and to provide astronomy researchers and enthusiasts with summaries of recent, interesting research across a wide range of astronomical fields.

aasnova.jpg

The following are the AAS Nova highlights from the past two weeks; follow the links to read more, or visit the AAS Nova webpage for more posts.

5 February 2016
Kepler-454b: Rocky or Not?
Is the planet Kepler-454b rocky, like a large Earth? Or gaseous, like a small Neptune? A recent study finds out.

3 February 2016
Upgrading Fermi Without Traveling to Space
The Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has received an upgrade that increased its sensitivity by a whopping 40% — and nobody had to travel to space to make it happen.

1 February 2016
Witnessing Springtime on Titan
Cassini data spanning a decade show how Titan’s surface temperatures evolve as its seasons change.

29 January 2016
Surprise Discovery of an X-Ray Jet
The recent discovery of a distant X-ray jet has interesting implications for our understanding of how these jets, powered by the enormous black holes at the centers of galaxies, emit light.

27 January 2016
Hot Jupiters Aren’t As Lonely As We Thought
The Friends of Hot Jupiters survey has discovered that many more hot Jupiters may have companions than we originally believed.

25 January 2016
Outcomes From AAS Hack Day at the 227th AAS Meeting
Want to see some of the fantastic creativity and problem-solving skills exhibited by AAS members? Check out these outcomes from the “Hack Day” hosted at the winter AAS meeting.