News & Views in 2020

In the event of accidental transmission of microbes to other planets, we must consider whether the local conditions would allow their proliferation. Whereas temperatures on Mars are usually hostile to life, liquid water is available from deliquescing salts.

Measurements with a CubeSat gas pixel detector reveal a change in the Crab pulsar polarization after a glitch in the spin period, suggesting that starquakes alter the magnetosphere.

A recent trial of distributed peer review for telescope time allocation at the European Southern Observatory echoes the findings of a similar scheme in place at Gemini Observatory since 2015, with both procedures reducing the time invested, financial costs and reviewer burden.

One way for a relativistic jet to decelerate is by instabilities developing on its boundary, which are likely to be caused by continuous bombardment by stars from the host galaxy of the radio jet.

The interstellar object ‘Oumuamua passed through the Solar System in 2017 and exhibited a puzzling combination of physical features. New work tells the story of this visitor.

Microwave measurements of water vapour from the Juno spacecraft show that Jupiter is enhanced in oxygen by roughly three times the solar abundance at the equator. The water abundance is important in understanding the formation of Jupiter, the structure of its deep interior, and the nature of its clouds and weather.

Lyman-α blobs are spatially extended nebulae of hydrogen line emission that may hold clues for understanding the formation and evolution of massive galaxies at high redshifts. Recent observations and simulations suggest that multiple mechanisms can explain the origin of these objects, notably including gravitational cooling radiation.

A radio detection of an old red dwarf might reveal the presence of a planetary system, and open up the search for exoplanets to a new technique.