Meet the Keynote Speakers: Konstantin Batygin
Planetary scientist Konstantin Batygin discusses the elusive Planet Nine and how he fell into astrophysics whilst waiting for his rock band to become the next Metallica.
Why did (some) scientists march?
Last Saturday many scientists and science enthusiasts went to the streets joining the March for Science. What are the reasons behind this movement?
Stuff Between the Stars: Gas, Dust, and… Asteroids?
Interstellar space should be littered with debris ejected during the formation of planetary systems—but how much? Engelhardt et al. use solar system surveys and simulations to place an upper limit on the number density of asteroids and comets roaming the Milky Way without a parent star.
Samples and Statistics: Distinguishing Populations of Hot Jupiters in a Growing Dataset
Techniques in astrostatistics help astronomers characterize large amounts of data. The authors of today’s astrobite use data-driven astrostatistics to distinguish between populations of hot Jupiters in a sample. It’s a technique that can definitely be put to good use over the next few decades, as oodles of observations pour in from the new telescopes of the 21st century.
Bridging the Gap: A Stellar Way to Identify Planets in Protoplanetary Disks
Characterizing planets through direct imaging is no easy task! But today’s authors offer a work-around formula, which estimates the crucial parameter of planetary mass from protoplanetary disk observations. In this astrobite, we discuss ‘The Theory’ and ‘The Practice’ of their cool equation.
The Curious Case of Planetary Nebulae in Globular Clusters
Planetary nebulae where they shouldn’t be–how did they get there?