Jets in a post-AGB envelope
The authors present the first direct evidence of a jet shaping the circumstellar envelope of a post-AGB star.
Kepler’s view on the gravity of stars
A study of Kepler data reveals a correlation between brightness fluctuations and surface gravity of stars.
The black hole and the 50-course meal
The authors of today’s paper investigate the feeding habits of the elusive quiescent supermassive black hole, finding that in addition to swallowing some stars whole and constantly snacking on the winds of other stars, some black holes may also dine on giant stars slowly disrupted over tens to hundreds of orbits.
The Top 12 of 2012
What were astronomers reading and talking about in their research last year? Check out figures from the top 12 most-cited astronomy papers from 2012 (so far) and find out what researchers were up to and why!
Exploding diamonds in the sky
Pakmor et al. propose a new mechanism to make Type 1a supernova explosions from a pair of white dwarfs.
The galaxy’s red giant bones
“Galactic archaeology” is the term that has come to refer to using the motions and chemical compositions of stars of different ages to learn about the history of the Milky Way. It seems to me that “galactic paleontology” might be a bit more accurate. I hope to see galactic archaeology v. galactic paleontology fought out in the comments!