Featured Astrobites
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A Comet on TESS’s Vision
TESS was built to find exoplanets. But it turns out it can help us learn a lot about comets too!
Here be dragons: Mapping the Mass Gap
The ‘mass gap’ is a mass range bereft of any observed neutron stars or black holes. What can gravitational waves tell us about possible inhabitants of this terra incognita?
QUESTing for an answer: Elucidating the role of gas in star-formation
What makes a starburst galaxy? Do they have more gas or more efficient star-formation?
A New, Scattered-Light View of Planet-Forming Disks
New scattered-light images reveal striking substructure in circumstellar disks around nearby low-mass stars.
Constraining the Hubble Constant with Lensed Gravitational Wave Events
Gravitational waves have been used to measure the Hubble constant before, but the uncertainties were too large to provide competitive constraints. However, using lensed gravitational wave events could be a game-changer.
A Dizzying Diversity of Dwarf Galaxies
Today’s paper explains why the rotation curves of dwarf galaxies continue to baffle astronomers.
Beyond astro-ph
Astronomy beyond the research
Experiencing a dark tour of the universe
Astronomy is known for its beautiful images. Join me on a tour to discover how we can communicate astronomy without relying on vision.
Book Review: A Classification System for All of Astronomy
In his new book, astronomer and former NASA Chief Historian Steven Dick outlines a classification system for all of astronomy. Will it catch on?
Drop It Like It’s Biased: A Step-by-Step Guide to Dropping the GRE
An Astro2020 white paper presents evidence that GRE is biased and a poor predictor of PhD success, and offers guidelines for eliminating the requirement from graduate school admissions.
Navigating careers in astronomy
Career advice
Meet the AAS Keynote Speakers: Professor James Head III
Professor James Head III worked for the Apollo program which saw humans first land on the Moon nearly 50 years ago. Find out how we are continuing to explore the Moon and what it can still teach us ahead of his plenary talk at #AAS234. Is it time we went back?
Meet the AAS Keynote Speakers: Professor Alice Shapley
Come ask questions at Dr. Alice Shapley’s #AAS234 talk to learn about interesting events that happened a long time ago, to galaxies far, far away!
Meet the AAS Keynote Speakers: Dr. Philip Scherrer
Dr. Philip Scherrer has studied our nearest star for over 50 years. In his talk at #AAS234, he’ll tell us about what he’s learned — both about the Sun, and about being a scientist!