Highlights from AAS Nova: 8–21 March 2026

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.

20 March 2026
Details on Dinkinesh and Its Surprise Satellite from the Lucy Mission
The Lucy mission has provided insights into the craters, boulders, and other surface features of the asteroid Dinkinesh and its small satellite, Selam.

18 March 2026
A Search for a Supermassive Black Hole Binary
Astronomers search for spacetime ripples from a possible supermassive black hole binary at the heart of the elliptical galaxy 3C 66B.

17 March 2026
I Survived a Type Ia Supernova, and All I Got Was This Kick Velocity
Astrobites reports on an investigation of a runaway star that may have survived its companion going supernova.

16 March 2026
Disrupted Dwarf Galaxy: Investigating the History of the Small Magellanic Cloud
Could a recent collision between the two largest satellites of the Milky Way explain the disrupted state of the Small Magellanic Cloud?

13 March 2026
Jupiter’s Atmosphere Holds Steady
Astronomers knew that Jupiter’s upper atmosphere could be strangely warm, but only now do they have global maps showing just where those hot spots are and how long they last.

11 March 2026
Astronomers See Braided Magnetic Fields Above a Sunspot
Thanks to increasingly high-resolution images of the Sun, researchers are catching magnetic reconnection as it happens.

10 March 2026
Forever Alone: A Black Hole Destined to Stay Too Big
Astrobites reports on a black hole that's far too massive for its host galaxy, and whether this system could ever reach "normal" proportions.

9 March 2026
Featured Image: A Treasure Trove of Strong Lenses
Using a neural network, researchers have discovered 3,500 candidate strong gravitational lenses in data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument.

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