Highlights from AAS Nova: 16-29 April 2017

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.

28 April 2017
Hunting Elusive SPRITEs with Spitzer
Spitzer has discovered several unusual flare-ups in nearby galaxies. What caused these mysterious events?

26 April 2017
Microlensing Discovery of an Earth-Mass Planet
An Earth-mass planet has recently been discovered around a star so small it may not even be a star.

25 April 2017
Cradles of Massive Stars
Astrobites reports on the formation of baby massive stars in nearby star-forming region W51.

24 April 2017
Worlds Without Moons
The potential for liquid water is not the only factor when determining a planet’s habitability. One important consideration: whether the planet has a moon.

21 April 2017
An Exploration of Dusty Galaxies
New measurements of a sample of dusty, star-forming galaxies have allowed us to learn more about the universe in its early years.

19 April 2017
What Shaped Elias 2-27’s Disk?
The young star Elias 2-27 is surrounded by a massive disk with spectacular spiral arms. A new study examines what caused its appearance.

18 April 2017
Samples and Statistics: Distinguishing Populations of Hot Jupiters in a Growing Dataset
Astrobites reports on how statistics can be used to distinguish between populations of hot Jupiters in a large sample.

17 April 2017
Featured Image: Globular Cluster Orbits
The release of data from Gaia has allowed us to improve our understanding of the globular clusters that orbit the Milky Way.