2016

Pluto with Charon in the background (Image NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI)

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An article published in the journal “Nature” describes a research that suggests a rapid formation of the large basin of Sputnik Planitia, a part of the heart-shaped region on the dwarf planet Pluto, in the early stages of its life. A team of researchers led by Douglas Hamilton, a professor of astronomy at the University of Maryland, concluded that its features might be the inevitable consequences of the processes that led to its evolution.

The Progress MS-4 spacecraft blasting off atop a Soyuz U rocket (Image NASA TV)

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A little while ago the Progress MS-4 spacecraft blasted off atop a Soyuz U rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After about nine minutes it separated successfully from the rocket’s last stage and was placed on its route. The cargo spacecraft began its resupply mission to the International Space Station also called Progress 65.

When the spacecraft was about to separate from the rocket’s last stage some problems with the reception of telemetry data started. It’s unclear whether the solar panels have been deployed and especially if it’s properly en route. The spacecraft was launched in the 2-day path but its status hasn’t been determined.

Summary of the research on K2-3d (Image courtesy National Astronomical Observatory of Japan)

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An article published in “The Astronomical Journal” describes a research on the exoplanet K2-3d. This is a super-Earth discovered using the Kepler space telescope. An international team of researchers added more data collected later by the Spitzer space telescope and the Okayama Astrophysical Observatory’s telescope to get a more accurate measurement of this potentially habitable planet’s orbital period.

Area around the Milky Way's center (Image courtesy Alex Mellinger)

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An article published in the journal “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society” describes the discovery of a new family of stars at the center of the Milky Way tha are unusually nitrogen-rich. A team of astronomers from the Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) made this discovery working on the APOGEE (the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment) project, which aims to collect infrared data of hundreds of thousands of stars in the Milky Way.

Cygnus X-3 and little friend (Image X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/M.McCollough et al, Radio: ASIAA/SAO/SMA)

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An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” describes a research on Cygnus X-3, a binary system consisting of a massive star slowly consumed by its companion, a black hole or a neutron star that is gas continuously taking gas away from it. A team of researchers used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Smithsonian’s Submillimeter Array (SMA) to detect the emissions generated from Cygnus X-3, reflected by a star-forming cloud.