19 September 2016

Highlights from AAS Nova: 4-17 September 2016

Susanna Kohler

Susanna Kohler American Astronomical Society (AAS)

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.

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.

16 September 2016
Update on the Puzzling Boyajian’s Star
What’s causing the mysterious light-curve dips of the so-called "alien megastructure" star? Here are a few of the latest possible explanations.

14 September 2016
Are Stellar Storms Bad News for M-Dwarf Planets?
M dwarfs like V374 Peg or even the nearby Proxima Centauri are likely to have major stellar storms. What impact could this activity have on planets in the stars’ habitable zones?

13 September 2016
Making of an Active Galactic Nucleus
Astrobites reports on recent simulations studying how the extremely powerful, active centers of some galaxies might have formed.

12 September 2016
Featured Image: Hubble’s New Views of Debris Disks
Hubble’s STIS instrument has made several new observations of debris disks around three nearby solar-analog stars.

9 September 2016
Building Up the Milky Way’s Skeleton
A new study has used a computer algorithm to uncover many of the bones that make up the skeleton of the Milky Way.

7 September 2016
WISE-ing Up to Broken Planets
Astrobites reports on the discovery of a debris disc strewn around a white dwarf star — all that is now left of what was once likely a planetary system.

6 September 2016
Through the Lenses of Black Holes
Astrobites reports on a solution to the tricky process of looking for something you can’t see — like isolated black holes.