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A case for a binary black hole system revealed via quasi-periodic outflows

Steiner, James F.; Holoien, Thomas W. -S.; Daylan, Tansu +33 more

Binaries containing a compact object orbiting a supermassive black hole are thought to be precursors of gravitational wave events, but their identification has been extremely challenging. Here, we report quasi-periodic variability in x-ray absorption, which we interpret as quasi-periodic outflows (QPOuts) from a previously low-luminosity active ga…

A structured jet explains the extreme GRB 221009A

Kouveliotou, Chryssa; Buckley, David A. H.; Hammerstein, Erica +29 more

Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are powerful cosmic explosions, signaling the death of massive stars. Among them, GRB 221009A is by far the brightest burst ever observed. Because of its enormous energy ( E iso ≈ 10 55 erg) and proximity ( z ≈ 0.15), GRB 221009A is an exceptionally rare event that pushes the limits of our theories. We present…

A radio pulsar phase from SGR J1935+2154 provides clues to the magnetar FRB mechanism

Göğüş, Ersin; Li, Di; Zhu, Weiwei +34 more

The megajansky radio burst, FRB 20200428, and other bright radio bursts detected from the Galactic source SGR J1935+2154 suggest that magnetars can make fast radio bursts (FRBs), but the emission site and mechanism of FRB-like bursts are still unidentified. Here, we report the emergence of a radio pulsar phase of the magnetar 5 months after FRB 20…

Giant tidal tails of helium escaping the hot Jupiter HAT-P-32 b

Vanderburg, Andrew; Cochran, William D.; Endl, Michael +14 more

Capturing planets in the act of losing their atmospheres provides rare opportunities to probe their evolution history. This analysis has been enabled by observations of the helium triplet at 10,833 angstrom, but past studies have focused on the narrow time window right around the planet's optical transit. We monitored the hot Jupiter HAT-P-32 b us…

Complex organosulfur molecules on comet 67P: Evidence from the ROSINA measurements and insights from laboratory simulations

Ehlmann, Bethany L.; Brown, Michael E.; Choukroun, Mathieu +9 more

The ROSINA (Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis) instrument aboard the Rosetta mission revolutionized our understanding of cometary material composition. One of Rosetta's key findings is the complexity of the composition of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Here, we used ROSINA data to analyze dust particles that were volatili…

Mapping solar magnetic fields from the photosphere to the base of the corona

Hara, Hirohisa; De Pontieu, Bart; Carlsson, Mats +25 more

Routine ultraviolet imaging of the Sun's upper atmosphere shows the spectacular manifestation of solar activity; yet we remain blind to its main driver, the magnetic field. Here we report unprecedented spectropolarimetric observations of an active region plage and its surrounding enhanced network, showing circular polarization in ultraviolet (Mg I…

Water heavily fractionated as it ascends on Mars as revealed by ExoMars/NOMAD

Vandaele, Ann Carine; Aoki, Shohei; Liuzzi, Giuliano +15 more

Transient HCl in the atmosphere of Mars

Montmessin, Franck; Belyaev, Denis A.; Fedorova, Anna A. +23 more

A major quest in Mars' exploration has been the hunt for atmospheric gases, potentially unveiling ongoing activity of geophysical or biological origin. Here, we report the first detection of a halogen gas, HCl, which could, in theory, originate from contemporary volcanic degassing or chlorine released from gas-solid reactions. Our detections made …

The source of the major solar energetic particle events from super active region 11944

Brooks, David H.; Yardley, Stephanie L.

Shock waves associated with fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs) accelerate solar energetic particles (SEPs) in the long duration, gradual events that pose hazards to crewed spaceflight and near-Earth technological assets, but the source of the CME shock-accelerated plasma is still debated. Here, we use multi-messenger observations from the Heliophy…

Revealing the source of Jupiter's x-ray auroral flares

Ness, Jan-Uwe; Kraft, Ralph; Sulaiman, Ali H. +22 more