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Astronomy and astrophysics are the study of objects and phenomena that are found beyond our solar system. This combines theoretical simulations and observation with both terrestrial and space-craft-borne instruments of the electromagnetic radiation and high-energy particles emitted by celestial bodies.
Phase-curve observations of the ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanet WASP-43b, made at mid-infrared wavelengths using JWST, provide evidence that fast winds limit the formation of methane on the cooler, cloudy nightside of the planet.
Observations have revealed a galaxy that stopped forming stars earlier than expected. This discovery offers clues about when the first galaxies emerged and sheds light on how stars formed when the Universe was in its infancy.
Computer simulations based on the prevailing cosmological model, ΛCDM, reproduce many observed properties of our Universe. But a study of coherent satellite motions in galaxy clusters yields discrepancies that challenge the definition of ‘today’.
Machine learning-based surrogate models are important to model complex systems at a reduced computational cost; however, they must often be re-evaluated and adapted for validity on future data. Diaw and colleagues propose an online training method leveraging optimizer-directed sampling to produce surrogate models that can be applied to any future data and demonstrate the approach on a dense nuclear-matter equation of state containing a phase transition.
The SPECULOOS project detected an Earth-sized planet in a short orbit around a nearby Jupiter-sized star. This planet, SPECULOOS-3 b, is one of the most promising rocky exoplanets for detailed emission spectroscopy characterization with JWST.
Precise mass and radius measurements of giant planet WASP-193 b find an extremely low density of 0.059 ± 0.014 g cm−3. Current evolutionary models cannot fully explain such a low density, but the extended atmosphere makes WASP-193 b very suitable for high-precision characterization via JWST.
A pathway towards the formation of pyridine and (iso)quinoline, precursors to DNA and RNA, is revealed for conditions appropriate to Saturn’s moon Titan and the Taurus molecular cloud, providing insight into the synthesis of prebiotic molecules in space.
V1298 Tau b is a 20–30-Myr-old Jovian-sized planet with a haze-free, metal-poor atmosphere and a potentially hot interior. These properties suggest that V1298 Tau b formed in situ via pebble accretion and that it is still evolving and likely to become a Neptune- or sub-Neptune-sized planet.
The first set of results from a pioneering cosmic-mapping project hints that the repulsive force known as dark energy has changed over 11 billion years, which would alter ideas about how the Universe has evolved and what its future will be.