An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” reports a study on the supernova 2018zd. A team of researchers studied observations conducted with various telescopes and concluded that this supernova is of the electron-capture type, which was theorized 40 years ago but never identified with certainty. According to the researchers, 2018zd matches the theoretical predictions and offers new confirmations to the hypothesis that the supernova observed in A.D. 1054 was of the electron-capture type.

An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal” reports a study concerning a stellar nursery inside the RCW 49 nebula. A team of researchers coordinated by the University of Maryland used data obtained with the SOFIA flying telescope and combined them with others obtained with other instruments to obtain a 3D reconstruction of a gigantic structure of ionized hot plasma that is expanding around the open star cluster Westerlund 2. The main “suspect” behind that expansion is the star WR 20a.

Two articles, one published in “The Astrophysical Journal” and one in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters”, report various aspects of a study of the protoplanetary disk surrounding the young star Elias 2-27. Two teams of researchers with various members in common and Teresa Paneque Carreño as principal investigator used the ALMA radio telescope to study that star system in formation. In particular, they studied the gravitational perturbations that generated the spiral arms in the disk. This is a step forward in understanding the mechanisms of formation of new planets.