August 2016

Map of the ancient rivers system of Arabia Terra on Mars (Image courtesy J.M. Davis et al.)

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An article published in the journal “Geology” describes the study of the remains of a system of ancient riverbeds in the region of the planet Mars called Arabia Terra. A team of scientists led by Joel Davis of the University College London analyzed high-resolution photographs taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) space probe to find traces of rivers that flowed nearly 4 billion years ago. This is another confirmation of the fact that at that time the climate on Mars was warm and wet, similar to the Earth.

Artist's concept of G11.92-0.61 MM1 with the keplerian disc around it (Image courtesy A. Smith (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge))

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An article published in the journal “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society” describes the discovery of a protostar called G11.92-0.61 MM1. A team of astronomers led by John Ilee from the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy, UK, identified this object in a key stage in the birth of a star. It has a mass that is already more than thirty times that of the Sun and is still attracting materials from the molecular cloud in which it’s forming.

Artistic concept of the exoplanet GJ 1132b with its star in the background (Image courtesy Dana Berry / Skyworks Digital / CfA)

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An article accepted for publication in “The Astrophysical Journal” describes a research on the exoplanet GJ 1132b, taken as an example of a rocky planet orbiting close to a red dwarf star. A team of astronomers led by Laura Schaefer of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) used computer models to simulate the evolution of that type of planet’s atmosphere concluding that could be thin and contain oxygen.

The supernova remnants G11.2-0.3 (Photo X-ray: NASA/CXC/NCSU/K. Borkowski et al; Optical: DSS)

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At the workshop “Chandra Science for the Next Decade” being held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a new image was presented showing a supernova remnant called G11.2-0.3 obtained using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. For years these were considered the remnants of the supernova recorded by the Chinese in 386 A.D. and for this reason known as SN 386 but new exams indicate that it was a different supernova.

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An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series” describes a research on brown dwarfs, objects on the border between stars and planets. A team of researchers led by Jacqueline Fahery of the Carnegie Institution examined the characteristics of 152 young brown dwarfs and concluded that their atmospheres’ properties might be the behind their differences.