| 21. |
- Fujiya, Wataru, et al.
(författare)
-
Migration of D-type asteroids from the outer Solar System inferred from carbonate in meteorites
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 3:10, s. 910-915
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent dynamical models of Solar System evolution and isotope studies of rock-forming elements in meteorites have suggested that volatile-rich asteroids formed in the outer Solar System beyond Jupiter’s orbit, despite being currently located in the main asteroid belt. The ambient temperature under which asteroids formed is a crucial diagnostic to pinpoint the original location of asteroids and is potentially determined by the abundance of volatiles they contain. In particular, abundances and 13C/12C ratios of carbonates in meteorites record the abundances of carbon-bearing volatile species in their parent asteroids. However, the sources of carbon for these carbonates remain poorly understood. Here we show that the Tagish Lake meteorite contains abundant carbonates with consistently high 13C/12C ratios. The high abundance of 13C-rich carbonates in Tagish Lake excludes organic matter as their main carbon source. Therefore, the Tagish Lake parent body, presumably a D-type asteroid10, must have accreted a large amount of 13C-rich CO2 ice. The estimated 13C/12C and CO2/H2O ratios of ice in Tagish Lake are similar to those of cometary ice. Thus, we infer that at least some D-type asteroids formed in the cold outer Solar System and were subsequently transported into the inner Solar System owing to an orbital instability of the giant planets.
|
|
| 22. |
- Galand, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Far-ultraviolet aurora identified at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : NATURE RESEARCH. - 2397-3366. ; 4:11, s. 1084-1091
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In situ measurements from the Rosetta spacecraft reveal the presence of atomic emissions close to comet 67P's nucleus. Such emissions are due to dissociative excitation of molecules by the interaction with the solar wind, identifying them as a form of aurora. Having a nucleus darker than charcoal, comets are usually detected from Earth through the emissions from their coma. The coma is an envelope of gas that forms through the sublimation of ices from the nucleus as the comet gets closer to the Sun. In the far-ultraviolet portion of the spectrum, observations of comae have revealed the presence of atomic hydrogen and oxygen emissions. When observed over large spatial scales as seen from Earth, such emissions are dominated by resonance fluorescence pumped by solar radiation. Here, we analyse atomic emissions acquired close to the cometary nucleus by the Rosetta spacecraft and reveal their auroral nature. To identify their origin, we undertake a quantitative multi-instrument analysis of these emissions by combining coincident neutral gas, electron and far-ultraviolet observations. We establish that the atomic emissions detected from Rosetta around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at large heliocentric distances result from the dissociative excitation of cometary molecules by accelerated solar-wind electrons (and not by electrons produced from photo-ionization of cometary molecules). Like the discrete aurorae at Earth and Mars, this cometary aurora is driven by the interaction of the solar wind with the local environment. We also highlight how the oxygen line Oiat wavelength 1,356 A could be used as a tracer of solar-wind electron variability.
|
|
| 23. |
- Goobar, Ariel, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
-
Uncovering a population of gravitational lens galaxies with magnified standard candle SN Zwicky
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - 2397-3366. ; 7:9, s. 1098-1107
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Detecting gravitationally lensed supernovae is among the biggest challenges in astronomy. It involves a combination of two very rare phenomena: catching the transient signal of a stellar explosion in a distant galaxy and observing it through a nearly perfectly aligned foreground galaxy that deflects light towards the observer. Here we describe how high-cadence optical observations with the Zwicky Transient Facility, with its unparalleled large field of view, led to the detection of a multiply imaged type Ia supernova, SN Zwicky, also known as SN 2022qmx. Magnified nearly 25-fold, the system was found thanks to the standard candle nature of type Ia supernovae. High-spatial-resolution imaging with the Keck telescope resolved four images of the supernova with very small angular separation, corresponding to an Einstein radius of only θE = 0.167″ and almost identical arrival times. The small θE and faintness of the lensing galaxy are very unusual, highlighting the importance of supernovae to fully characterize the properties of galaxy-scale gravitational lenses, including the impact of galaxy substructures.
|
|
| 24. |
|
|
| 25. |
- Harsono, D., et al.
(författare)
-
Evidence for the start of planet formation in a young circumstellar disk
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 2:8, s. 646-651
-
Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- © 2018, The Author(s). The growth of dust grains in protoplanetary disks is a necessary first step towards planet formation1. This growth has been inferred from observations of thermal dust emission2towards mature protoplanetary systems (age >2 million years) with masses that are, on average, similar to Neptune3. In contrast, the majority of confirmed exoplanets are heavier than Neptune4. Given that young protoplanetary disks are more massive than their mature counterparts, this suggests that planet formation starts early, but evidence for grain growth that is spatially and temporally coincident with a massive reservoir in young disks remains scarce. Here, we report observations on a lack of emission of carbon monoxide isotopologues within the inner ~15 au of a very young (age ~100,000 years) disk around the solar-type protostar TMC1A. By using the absence of spatially resolved molecular line emission to infer the gas and dust content of the disk, we conclude that shielding by millimetre-size grains is responsible for the lack of emission. This suggests that grain growth and millimetre-size dust grains can be spatially and temporally coincident with a mass reservoir sufficient for giant planet formation. Hence, planet formation starts during the earliest, embedded phases in the life of young stars.
|
|
| 26. |
|
|
| 27. |
- Henshaw, Jonathan D., et al.
(författare)
-
Ubiquitous velocity fluctuations throughout the molecular interstellar medium
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 4:11, s. 1064-1071
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The density structure of the interstellar medium determines where stars form and release energy, momentum and heavy elements, driving galaxy evolution1–4. Density variations are seeded and amplified by gas motion, but the exact nature of this motion is unknown across spatial scales and galactic environments5. Although dense star-forming gas probably emerges from a combination of instabilities6,7, convergent flows8 and turbulence9, establishing the precise origin is challenging because it requires gas motion to be quantified over many orders of magnitude in spatial scale. Here we measure10–12 the motion of molecular gas in the Milky Way and in nearby galaxy NGC 4321, assembling observations that span a spatial dynamic range 10−1–103 pc. We detect ubiquitous velocity fluctuations across all spatial scales and galactic environments. Statistical analysis of these fluctuations indicates how star-forming gas is assembled. We discover oscillatory gas flows with wavelengths ranging from 0.3–400 pc. These flows are coupled to regularly spaced density enhancements that probably form via gravitational instabilities13,14. We also identify stochastic and scale-free velocity and density fluctuations, consistent with the structure generated in turbulent flows9. Our results demonstrate that the structure of the interstellar medium cannot be considered in isolation. Instead, its formation and evolution are controlled by nested, interdependent flows of matter covering many orders of magnitude in spatial scale.
|
|
| 28. |
- Ibata, Rodrigo A., et al.
(författare)
-
Identification of the long stellar stream of the prototypical massive globular cluster ω Centauri
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 3:7, s. 667-672
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Omega Centauri (omega Cen) is the Milky Way's most massive globular cluster, and has long been suspected of being the remnant core of an accreted dwarf galaxy. If this scenario is correct, omega Cen should be tidally limited and tidal debris should be spread along its orbit. Here we use N-body simulations to show that the recently discovered 'Fimbulthul' structure is the long-sought-for tidal stream of omega Cen, extending up to 28 degrees from the cluster. Follow-up high-resolution spectroscopy of five stream stars shows that they are closely grouped in velocity, and have metallicities consistent with having originated in that cluster. Informed by our N-body simulations, we devise a selection filter that we apply to Gaia mission data to also uncover the stream in the highly contaminated and crowded field within 10 degrees of omega Cen. Further modelling of the stream may help to constrain the dynamical history of the dwarf galaxy progenitor of this disrupting system and guide future searches for its remnant stars in the Milky Way.
|
|
| 29. |
- Janssen, Michael, et al.
(författare)
-
Event Horizon Telescope observations of the jet launching and collimation in Centaurus A
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 5:10, s. 1017-1028
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of active galactic nuclei at millimetre wavelengths have the power to reveal the launching and initial collimation region of extragalactic radio jets, down to 10–100 gravitational radii (rg ≡ GM/c2) scales in nearby sources1. Centaurus A is the closest radio-loud source to Earth2. It bridges the gap in mass and accretion rate between the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in Messier 87 and our Galactic Centre. A large southern declination of −43° has, however, prevented VLBI imaging of Centaurus A below a wavelength of 1 cm thus far. Here we show the millimetre VLBI image of the source, which we obtained with the Event Horizon Telescope at 228 GHz. Compared with previous observations3, we image the jet of Centaurus A at a tenfold higher frequency and sixteen times sharper resolution and thereby probe sub-lightday structures. We reveal a highly collimated, asymmetrically edge-brightened jet as well as the fainter counterjet. We find that the source structure of Centaurus A resembles the jet in Messier 87 on ~500 rg scales remarkably well. Furthermore, we identify the location of Centaurus A’s SMBH with respect to its resolved jet core at a wavelength of 1.3 mm and conclude that the source’s event horizon shadow4 should be visible at terahertz frequencies. This location further supports the universal scale invariance of black holes over a wide range of masses5,6.
|
|
| 30. |
- Johansen, Anders
(författare)
-
New clues to planet formation
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 3:9, s. 794-795
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
|
|
