February 2024

Artist’s impression of the white dwarf WD 0816-310 with its magnetic field and the debris that surrounds it (Image ESO/L. Calçada)

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An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” reports the results of a study of the white dwarf cataloged as WD 0816-310 and of what was defined as a scar on its surface, left by the materials of a large asteroid that got swallowed. A team of researchers used ESO’s VLT (Very Large Telescope) in Chile to obtain the information necessary to identify the metallic elements that form that scar and its concentration in a specific area, which is one of its magnetic poles. This result offers new insights into the evolution of planetary systems after the death of their star.

The remnant of the supernova SN 1987A as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope

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An article published in the journal “Science” reports new evidence that the supernova SN 1987A generated a pulsar. A team of researchers used observations conducted with the James Webb Space Telescope to detect the effects of high-energy emissions coming from the pulsar or the pulsar wind nebula, a nebula that surrounds it and is powered by the pulsar. These are confirmations of conclusions reached by other teams of researchers in recent years using observations in other electromagnetic bands.

A simulation of Odysseus Moon landing (Image courtesy Intuitive Machines / NASA TV)

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It was the afternoon in the USA when Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Odysseus lander attempted its Moon landing in the Malapert A crater. It was an autonomous maneuver that constituted the crucial step of the IM-1 mission. It took about 10 minutes to receive the first faint signals from Odysseus but they were invaluable in confirming the Moon landing. At Intuitive Machines’ mission control center, work began to have regular communications that allow them to understand Odysseus’ exact status and receive the data collected, including images.

Artist's impression of a dust-generating Kuiper Belt collision (Image courtesy Dan Durda, FIAAA)

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An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” reports a study of the presence of dust in the Kuiper Belt which suggests that it may be much more extended than previously thought or that there’s a second Belt outside the known one. A team of researchers used detections conducted with NASA’s New Horizons space probe’s Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter (VBSDC, or simply SDC) instrument to support these possibilities. That’s because current models indicate that dust density should decrease in the area where New Horizons is traveling, where detections are higher than expected.

The region of sky where quasar J0529-4351 is located. It was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2 while the inset shows the position of this quasar in the center in an image from the Dark Energy Survey.

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An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” reports the identification of the brightest and most voracious quasar discovered so far, cataloged as J0529-4351. A team of researchers used various instruments to understand that it wasn’t a nearby star but a primordial quasar we see as it looked over 12 billion years ago.

The researchers estimated that the mass of the supermassive black hole that powers it is about 17 billion times the Sun’s, and it’s devouring materials around it at a very high rate, about the mass of the Sun every day. The study of this record-breaking primordial quasar can help reconstruct the history of the early universe and the processes that led to it becoming what it is today.