Highlights from AAS Nova: 2–15 February 2025

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. You can also sign up to receive emails each time a new post is published.

14 February 2025
Monthly Roundup: Preparing for a Potential Impact
Will the asteroid 2024 YR4 crash into Earth in 2032? Maybe, but probably not. Today's Monthly Roundup looks at three studies that advance our understanding of asteroid redirection — just in case.

12 February 2025
An Icy Disk in the Orion Nebula
The heart of the Orion Nebula, near the massive young stars of the Trapezium Cluster, is a dramatic place for a star to grow up. New research examines JWST images of an unusual protoplanetary disk in this exceptional setting.

11 February 2025
Life Is Like a Box of Potential Biosignatures
Astrobites reports on how habitable exoplanets resembling Earth in its younger years might appear to the Habitable Worlds Observatory.

10 February 2025
Featured Image: Evolution of a Supernova Ring
A ring of bright "hotspots" adorns the remnant of the supernova SN 1987A. Now, researchers have analyzed two decades of Hubble Space Telescope observations to track the evolution of this ring.

7 February 2025
Interaction Reactions: How Galaxy Encounters Influence Star Formation
Across cosmic time, galaxies interact and merge with each other, causing disruptions in their behavior. Recent simulations explore the impacts interactions have on the star formation activity in interacting galaxies.

5 February 2025
A New Groupie in Regulus’s Entourage?
What's the status of the brown dwarf discovered 12.6 light-years from Regulus: group member or unrelated neighbor? New research provides clues.

4 February 2025
Roasted Marshmallows Setting Fire to Our Understanding of Planet Formation?
Astrobites reports on how spectroscopic observations of an exoplanet can help us understand its composition and formation history.

3 February 2025
Cracking Crusts Might Set a Neutron Star Speed Limit
Neutron stars seem to rotate at only half their maximum rate. Can the splitting of a neutron star's crust explain why?

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