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Many interplanetary dust particles collected in Earth’s stratosphere spent millions of years exposed to solar radiation during their journey from sources beyond Neptune, namely the distant Kuiper belt. These Kuiper belt particles are a previously unrecognized population contributing to the zodiacal cloud and to the mass of dust accreted annually by Earth.
RS Ophiuchi is the first nova to be detected in the very-high-energy range. Its gamma-ray emission provides evidence of proton acceleration following the thermonuclear outburst. These observations offer new insight into the origin of cosmic rays.
Samples returned from the carbonaceous (C-type) asteroid 162173 Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 mission were preliminarily analysed in a non-destructive manner. Their dark spectral features, small densities and absence of a high-temperature component imply that they are most similar to primitive CI group chondrites, but show some differences to known planetary materials.
Combining polarimetry with space-based photometry and archival spectroscopy has given us an unprecedented understanding of the characteristics and interior structure of the bright β Cephei-type variable star β Crucis.
