News in Astronomy & Geophysics – October 2023

The RAS editorial team have been raising the profile of the RAS journals at key European meetings ahead of the journal changes to fully gold Open Access (OA) publications in 2024. Kim Clube, publishing manager and Pam Rowden, MNRAS assistant editor were exhibiting at the European Astronomical Society (EAS) Meeting in Krakow, and Liz Baker, publishing manager, joined GJI assistant editors Louise Alexander and Fern Storey (pictured), at the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics General Assembly (IUGG) in Berlin. Attendance was to promote the RAS journals and to be available to attendees to discuss the changes to OA and to answer questions about publishing in the journals. There were over 1500 attendees at EAS and 5000 at IUGG and at both meetings the feedback on the changes was mostly positive, especially about opening up the readership to a wider audience. There were many questions about accessing the funds to pay the Article Processing Charges, and delegates appreciated being able to talk about their concerns, and the options available. It was also an opportunity to meet journal editors face-to-face, in many cases for the first time since their appointment. bit.ly/3KJPOsQ The RAS was delighted to welcome Prof. Rangi Mātāmua on a visit to Burlington House. Prof Mātāmua (seen here with RAS executive director Philip Diamond and librarian Sian Prosser) is an astronomer whose work to reclaim and share indigenous Māori astronomy – including the website ‘Living by the Stars’, has been recognised with national honours. Prof. Mātāmua works to revitalise Māori astronomy, particularly the celebration of Matariki, the Māori New Year, heralded by the rising of the Matariki star cluster – the Pleiades – in the winter skies. Matariki became a national holiday in New Zealand in 2022. He is also working to reconnect people to other aspects of indigenous astronomy, such as maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar. bit.ly/3spQahD Sulphur monoxide (SO) molecules trace three spiral arms extending up to 400AU around the three protostars forming in the IRAS 04239+2436 system. According to new research in The Astrophysical Journal, this suggests a hybrid star formation process: a turbulent natal gas cloud fragments, then the seeds of new protostars form in the resulting disk. The analysis, presented by Jeong-Eun Lee (Seoul National University) and colleagues, suggests that the spiral arms traced by SO molecules are streamers flowing towards the three protostars. bit.ly/45eYK1t Astronomers have spotted boulders escaping from asteroid Dimorphos. Ranging from 1m to 6.7m across, based on Hubble Space Telescope photometry, the fragments are drifting from the asteroid at around one kilometre per hour. The total mass found is about 0.1% the mass of Dimorphos. They are likely to be already-loose debris knocked off the asteroid by the DART impact. A paper, by David Jewitt (UCLA) and colleagues appears in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. bit.ly/3KQ6e2R The newly discovered gas giant exoplanet TOI-4860b is unusual in two ways. First, its measured mass, 0.67 Jupiter masses, is too high to form around its low-mass (0.34M⊙) host star, according to canonical planet formation models. Secondly, it appears particularly enriched in heavy elements. Recent observations of the system by Amaury Triaud (University of Birmingham) and team have failed to suggest a cause for these anomalies. A paper appears in The Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. bit.ly/45BBsT7 A new study of young star HD 169142 and its disk has discovered a surprising chemical species: silicon monosulphide (SiS). It is thought that SiS must be released from nearby dust grains in massive shock waves caused by gas travelling at high velocity, behaviour typically resulting from outflows that are driven by giant protoplanets. The discovery provides astronomers with a chemical marker for detecting young protoplanets. Charles Law, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and colleagues report the finding in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. bit.ly/3slXyLf Plate tectonics is not required for the emergence of life, according to a new study by John Tarduno (University of Rochester) and colleagues appearing in Nature. The team used zircons to deduce that Earth's magnetic field did not change between 3.9 and 3.4 billion years ago. This means that plate tectonics was switched off during that period, when life was beginning. So, although plate tectonics is a key factor for sustaining life on Earth, it does not seem to be a requirement for life to develop. bit.ly/3QUGlCy Keir Rogers (University of Toronto) and colleagues may have found an explanation for the reduced clumpiness of matter compared to predictions. Computer simulations predicted the appearance of the CMB and the distribution of galaxies in a universe with axions of wavelength larger than an entire galaxy. The calculations, published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, aligned very well, supporting the notion that ‘fuzzy axions’ could account for the clumpiness problem. This is an intriguing new link between dark matter and the clumpiness of the universe. bit.ly/3QNwvSX Go Beyond the Milky Way is an immersive documentary using 360° virtual reality techniques to explore the Square Kilometre Array and what it will offer. Writer, director and producer Briege Whitehead has combined the spectacular traditional landscape of the Wajarri Yamaji people in Western Australia where the SKA LOW array is being built, with contributions from scientists involved in the project. The film is made by of White Spark Pictures and distributed by We Are Moving Stories. bit.ly/3qHLseT An early commissioning test image from the NISP in grism mode; each stripe is the spectrum of a galaxy Engineers have revealed the very first test images taken with the two instruments on board the European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope, prior to starting its quest to understand dark energy. Euclid was launched on 1 July 2023 and has just reached the L2 point, about 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, where it joins space telescopes Gaia and the JWST. The visible light instrument (VIS) and Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) both appear to be functioning correctly. bit.ly/3P2UYme The RAS Library and Archives are currently open from Tuesday to Friday, and you can check ras.ac.uk/library/ opening-times for the latest updates on opening hours. • Rublack, Ulinka. The astronomer and the witch: Johannes Kepler's fight for his mother. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. • Silk, Joseph. Back to the moon: the next giant leap for humankind. Princetown: Princetown University Press, 2022. • Ellis, Richard S. When galaxies were born: the quest for cosmic dawn. Princetown: Princetown University Press, 2022. • Henin, Bernard. Imaging our solar system: the evolution of space mission cameras and instruments. Cham: Springer-Praxis, 2021. For more new titles, please see the Library catalogue (link via ras.ac.uk/library/). If you are interested in borrowing any book, or would like to suggest a title for purchase or donation, please contact the Librarian by email ([email protected]) or phone: (+44) (0)207 292 3963. How long does an impact crater last? About two billion years, it seems. A research team analysed samples from one of Earth's oldest known impact structures: the Vredefort crater in South Africa. While some impact melt and minerals remained, the rocks in the outer ridges of the Vredefort structure were geophysically indistinguishable from the non-impact rocks around them. In other words, 10 kilometres of erosion (or two billion years) removes all traces of an impact on Earth, and means that older impact structures from the early Earth are unlikely to exist. A paper by Matthew Huber (University of the Western Cape) and co-workers appears in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. bit.ly/3qDsg1I ESA's weather satellite Aeolus mission came to an end on 28 July in the first assisted re-entry manoeuvre for a satellite that made sure it did not end up as space junk. A sequence of burns using the last of the fuel lowered the altitude of Aeolus from 320km to 150km – and led to the mission control team at ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Germany learning how to fly the satellite in this denser part of the atmosphere. Aeolus, ESA's wind mission, was not designed to end its life in this way; the reentry process sets a precedent for responsible misson management. bit.ly/3OHnNDq Using NASA's JWST, researchers have measured the heat radiating from TRAPPIST-1 c, an exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth. The results are consistent with the exoplanet being bare rock with no atmosphere, or having a thin CO2 atmosphere but with no clouds. Writing in Nature, Sebastian Zieba (MPIA) and team suggest the exoplanet may have formed with relatively little water. With a dayside temperature of roughly 380 K, TRAPPIST-1 c is now the coolest rocky exoplanet ever characterised based on thermal emission. bit.ly/3KMpeyY Using NASA's JWST, a research team have detected the methyl cation, CH3+, in space for the first time. The species was detected in the planetary disk of the young star system d203-506, in the Orion Bar. The disk is shown in a combined NIRCam and MIRI image on the bottom right. The researchers, led by Olivier Berné (University of Toulouse), found unusual chemistry in the system, including a lack of water, and suggest intense UV radiation from nearby hot massive stars is to blame. A paper appears in Nature. bit.ly/3E4uM4h In a new study, using the JWST, astronomers have discovered the earliest filamentary structure yet discovered, a long, narrow ‘filament’ of ten galaxies that existed just 830 million years after the Big Bang. The three million light-year-long structure is anchored by a luminous quasar. The researchers, led by Feige Wang and Jinyi Yang (Steward Observatory), believe this early thread of the cosmic web will eventually evolve into a massive cluster of galaxies, much like the well-known Coma Cluster. Several papers appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. bit.ly/3qHdrvi A new study has revealed previously unseen aurorae at 4.3 micrometre wavelength associated with carbon dioxide (CO2). The data were taken by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder on board NASA's Aqua satellite during a geomagnetic storm on 13–14 October 2016. At about 90km altitude carbon dioxide becomes vibrationally excited during an aurora, emitting elevated infrared signals. The study, appearing in Geophysical Research Letters, was conducted by Katrina Bossert (Arizona State University) and colleagues. bit.ly/3YKnSut The following were elected Fellows of the RAS in May 2023: Zoey Aismaki, Bridge of Allan Alicia Anderson, Cambridge James Banister, Preston John Blowers, Brockenhurst Alice Bru, London John Card, Durham Lock Cheng, Stockton-on-Tees Stephen Cookson, Crawley Nathan Cox, Bourne Timothy Craig, Leeds Charles Dalang, London Anthony Davis, Auchtermuchty Bram de Winter, The Netherlands Bora Derin, Harpenden Praveen Kumar Dhankar, Nagpur, India Georgina Dransfield, Gt Malvern Graeme Eddolls, Dieppe Fergus Edwin, Taunton David Fraser, Durban North, South Africa Lok Fung, Cambridge Pranjal Garg, Barking, India Kelly-Anne Godbold, Shropshire Andreas Hadjigeorghiou, Leamington Spa Oliver Hall, Macclesfield Ian Hall, Mablethorpe Lyra Hawkins, Kingston Upon Hull Timothy Hayton, Durham Don Hilary Sanjaya Hettiarachchi, Kurunegala, Sri Lanka James Hill, Hampshire Ines Elizabeth Hurrell, Dorset Jodie Kelly, London Deborah Kent, St Andrews Mishita Khurana, Edinburgh Adarsh Krishna, Hyderabad, India Tharika Dishani Lamappulage Donn, London Frank Latallerie, Oxford Serena Lezzi, Monteroni di Lecce, Italy Maximilian Lowe, St Neots Duncan McNicholl, Edinburgh Lola Eve Newbould, Durham Luke Ng, Kallang/Whampoa, Singapore Shritej Patil, Hatfield Jessica Pilling, Hove Marta Podgorny, Milton Keynes Cristian Radulescu, Guildford Meghna Ranpuria, London Mirza Rizwan, Hyderabad, India Daniel Roach, Rochdale Joshua Stanway, Lancaster Oliver Stewart, Durham Harriet Stewart, Bristol Colleen Sun, Durham Diane Swan, East Sussex Lara Tatli, Durham Julia Vives Martinius, Dieren, The Netherlands Kate Womack, Hull Kieran Zhane, Bristol The following were elected Fellows of the RAS in July 2023 Carolina Andonie, Durham Dominic Anstey, Cambridge Stephen Bailey, Billingham Tahlina Borradaile, Aberystwyth Steven Coburn, Telford Jonah Conley, St Helens Casey Cragg, Oxford David Davies, Harlton Leigh Davis, Cresselly John De Rohan-Tuba, St Albans Robin Haller, Glasgow Min Haung, Cambridge David Heffernan, Nottingham Lynn Henderson, South Shields James Jones, Leicester Harley Kelly, Exeter Dakshesh Kololgi, Slough Hermanus Lamers, Bilthoven, The Netherlands Nicola Lee, Balham Annie Lennox, Fenny Stratford Peter Maggs, Chelmsford Lorenzo Mugnai, Cardiff Niamh O'Sullivan, Oxford Roberta Olson, New York, USA Aashini Patel, Canterbury Gerrit Roellinghoff, Erlangen, Germany Lewis Rymer, Matlock Patricia Schady, Bath Amber Sedgley, Stafford Aikaterini (Katerina) Sergiopoulou, Leicester Olivia Smedley, Troon Hugh Spackman, Oxford Nina Stankovic, Aberystwyth Alexander Tanaka, Oxford Jack Turner, Brighton Martina Veresvarska, Bowburn Cara Waters, London Alan Wiggans, Preston Laura Wolz, Manchester Seonghyun Yoon, Durham A new study has investigated the consequences of Europa forming with low initial temperatures. Kevin Trinh (Arizona State University) and colleagues calculated how heat is generated and distributed throughout the moon, and show that Europa's seafloor may be cool and hydrated, and may experience limited, if any, seafloor volcanism. This may hinder Europa's habitability for life. A paper appears in Science Advances. bit.ly/3slnZRa The new £20 million International Bilateral Fund set up by the UK government to strengthen international links has made its first award announcements. Awards of up to £75 000 went to academic and industry projects across the UK space sector, in fields including in-orbit servicing and manufacturing, Earth observation and surveillance, plant growth, propulsion and power, and imaging. “Projects such as these highlight the many ways in which we can collaborate with the global space community,” said Paul Bate, chief executive of the UK Space Agency, “and unlock commercial opportunities that will benefit our economy now and in the future.” bit.ly/3slTlqZ Astronomers have used observations from the JWST to confirm the most distant active supermassive black hole (SMBH) ever found. CEERS 1019 existed just over 570 million years after the Big Bang, and is the most distant and oldest yet identified in the early universe. CEERS 1019 is not only notable for how long ago it existed, but also for the surprising size of its black hole. This black hole is about nine million solar masses, much larger than expected so early in cosmic time. A paper by Rebecca Larson (Rochester Institute of Technology) and co-authors appears in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. bit.ly/47Jf4cj Using microwave instruments on both the Chinese Chang'E 1 and 2 orbiters, researchers have found a heat source below the Compton-Belkovich feature, thought to be an ancient lunar volcano. This implies there are radioactive isotopes in the granite magma chamber beneath, the first time this has been found in the solar system, except on Earth. Matthew Siegler (Planetary Science Institute) and colleagues report the findings in Nature. bit.ly/3qF4hPM A new theory, proposed by Rajendra Gupta (University of Ottawa), introduces the idea of evolving ‘coupling constants’, as first hypothesised by physicist Paul Dirac, to reinterpret redshift as a hybrid phenomenon, rather than purely due to cosmic expansion. 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