Highlights from AAS Nova: 5–18 May 2024

AAS Nova provides brief highlights of recently published articles from the AAS journals, i.e., The Astronomical Journal (AJ), The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ), ApJ Letters, ApJ Supplements, The Planetary Science Journal, and Research Notes of the AAS. 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 AAS Nova for more posts.

17 May 2024
Studying a Guest Star's Annual Appearances
With T Coronae Borealis expected to rise to naked-eye visibility any day now, recurrent novae are in the news. To learn more about these events, check out this article about a recurrent nova in a neighboring galaxy.

15 May 2024
Huge Survey vs. Tiny Space Junk
One of the largest surveys of the sky is about to begin. But will tiny bits of space junk doom its carefully laid plans even before the first images are taken?

14 May 2024
Little Red Dots and Big Black Holes
Astrobites reports on a study that estimates how many galaxies with massive black holes are likely to be present in the early universe.

13 May 2024
Featured Image: A Disk Disturbed by Stellar Explosions
Simulations explore how supernovae can shake up and eject gas from a starburst galaxy.

10 May 2024
Astronomers Reopen the Mystery of a Planet That Shouldn't Exist
The exoplanet 8 UMi b should have been swallowed by its host star — and new research may have upended the standing hypothesis for how the planet escaped its fate.

8 May 2024
Sampling Over-Massive Black Holes at Cosmic Noon
For the first time, researchers have examined a population of black holes that may fill in the gap between over-massive black holes in the early universe and those present today.

7 May 2024
A Vampire’s Sandwich Filled with Gas and Dust
Astrobites reports on the serendipitous discovery of Dracula's Chivito, possibly the largest known protoplanetary disk.

6 May 2024
Finding Black Holes Around Black Holes
The accretion disks surrounding supermassive black holes could be home to millions of stellar-mass black holes. How can we tell if a disk hosts these black holes?