The Magellanic Clouds as seen by the Gaia space probe (Image ESA)

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An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” reports the results of a study of the Small Magellanic Cloud that shows how this dwarf galaxy is undergoing distortions in its shape due to various gravitational influences. Satoya Nakano and Kengo Tachihara of Nagoya University, Japan, used data collected by ESA’s Gaia space probe together with information on Cepheid stars collected by the OGLE (Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment) project. This allowed them to determine the distances of 4,236 Cepheids and the anomalies in their motions. The conclusion is that the Small Magellanic Cloud is undergoing a gravitational influence from the Large Magellanic Cloud and another as yet unknown source.

On the left the supernova SN 1987A remnant as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope, and in the other two panels the simulation of the density distribution of the remnant, which include the iron-rich materials, and the current morphology of that remnant

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An article to be published in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” reports a study of the supernova SN 1987A that offers evidence that the explosion was decidedly asymmetric and dominated by two bipolar jets. A team of researchers led by astrophysicist Salvatore Orlando of the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics in Palermo has developed a model that takes into account the interaction between matter and magnetic field to study the evolution of SN 1987A. The results successfully reproduce the morphology of the iron-rich ejected materials, which was observed in particular by the James Webb Space Telescope. This shows that those structures are the result of an asymmetric explosion.

15 protoplanetary disks studied in the ODISEA project with their classification according to the proposed model

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An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” reports a model that traces the evolution of protoplanetary disks through five stages. A team of researchers from the ODISEA (Ophiuchus DIsc Survey Employing ALMA) project developed this model using both simulations and observations of protoplanetary disks within the Ophiuchus molecular cloud obtained using the ALMA radio telescope. The type of evolution observed confirms the division into stages proposed in 2020 in an article published in the journal “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society” and offers some confirmation of the mechanisms by which giant planets influence the dynamics within those disks.

The Shenzhou 19 capsule after landing (Image courtesy Xinhua)

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A few hours ago, the three Chinese taikonauts of the Shenzhou 19 mission returned to Earth after spending a little more than six months on the Chinese space station Tiangong, where they arrived on October 29, 2024. The three taikonauts Wang Haoze, Cai Xuzhe, and Song Lingdong had left the station about nine hours earlier to land at a site called Dongfeng in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It’s a procedure that significantly reduces the time to return to Earth and now has become routine.

The Biomass satellite blasting off atop a Vega-C rocket (Image courtesy Arianespace)

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A little while ago, the Biomass satellite was launched atop a Vega-C rocket from the Kourou base in French Guiana. After about 58 minutes, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and set off on a course that will take it to its Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 666 kilometres, where it will study the biomass of forests around the world. This work will help us better understand the global carbon cycle and forest ecosystems.