Highlights from AAS Nova: 23 July - 5 August 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.

4 Aug 2017
Collisions Around a Black Hole Mean Mealtime
What can cause a black hole to burp? It may not always be gas from a star that was torn apart by gravity.

2 Aug 2017
Grounded Eyes on Distant Watery Skies
A new view of the nearby upsilon Andromedae system has revealed a great deal about its closest-in exoplanet — including the presence of water vapor in its atmosphere.

1 Aug 2017
What Are Mars’ Moons Made Of?
How were Phobos and Deimos, the two moons of Mars, formed? Astrobites reports on what we’ve learned from new simulations.

31 July 2017
Featured Image: Identifying Weird Galaxies
You probably know about spirals and ellipticals, but have you heard of ring galaxies?

28 July 2017
Throwing Icebergs at White Dwarfs
Where do the metals come from that pollute the atmospheres of many white dwarfs? Distant planet-size and icy objects could be partly at fault.

26 July 2017
The Making of a Pre-Planetary Nebula
What forms the gas surrounding dying stars into the intricate shapes and patterns observed?

25 July 2017
I See Skies of Blue and Clouds of White
Astrobites discusses how we can explore the cloudiness of the exoplanets we observe.

24 July 2017
The Story of a Boring Encounter with a Black Hole
What happened when G2 encountered Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, in 2014? Not much, but maybe that’s not surprising.