Highlights from AAS Nova: 7 - 20 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.

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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.

19 February 2016
Finding Distances to Type Ia Supernovae
What if Type Ia supernovae aren’t as consistent as we thought? A recent study investigates the dependence of these “standard candles” on the metallicity of their environment.

17 February 2016
Sizing Up Red-Giant Twins
A pair of red-giant twins may be a key to weighing stars using starquakes in their interiors.

15 February 2016
Disintegrating Planetary Bodies Around a White Dwarf
A recent study shows that WD 1145+017, a white dwarf surrounded by disintegrating planetary bodies, has evolved dramatically since its discovery last year.

12 February 2016
LIGO Discovers the Merger of Two Black Holes
Big news: The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) has detected its first gravitational-wave signal! What does this mean for black-hole astrophysics?

10 February 2016
Can JWST Follow Up on Gravitational-Wave Detections?
If LIGO finds gravitational waves, could the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) be used in the future to follow up on detections of some compact-object mergers?

8 February 2016
Featured Image: Solar Prominence Eruptions
Images of two powerful solar prominence eruptions have helped astronomers model how these eruptions travel away from the Sun.