The identification of red, apparently massive galaxies at z > 7 in early James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) photometry suggests a strongly accelerated time line compared to standard models of galaxy growth. A major uncertainty in the interpretation is whether the red colors are caused by evolved stellar populations, dust, or other effects such as emission lines or active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Here we show that three of the massive galaxy candidates at z = 6.7–8.4 have prominent Balmer breaks in JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy from the RUBIES program. The Balmer breaks demonstrate unambiguously that stellar emission dominates at λ_rest = 0.4 μm and require formation histories extending hundreds of millions of years into the past in galaxies only 600–800 Myr after the big bang. Two of the three galaxies also show broad Balmer lines, with Hβ FWHM > 2500 km s⁻¹, suggesting that dust-reddened AGNs contribute to, or even dominate, the spectral energy distributions of these galaxies at λ_rest ≳ 0.6 μm. All three galaxies have relatively narrow [O iii] lines, seemingly ruling out a high-mass interpretation if the lines arise in dynamically relaxed, inclined disks. Yet the inferred masses also remain highly uncertain. We model the high-quality spectra using Prospector to decompose the continuum into stellar and AGN components and explore limiting cases in stellar/AGN contribution. This produces a wide range of possible stellar masses, spanning M_⋆ ∼ 10⁹−10¹¹M_⊙. Nevertheless, all fits suggest a very early and rapid formation, most of which follow with a truncation in star formation. Potential origins and evolutionary tracks for these objects are discussed, from the cores of massive galaxies to low-mass galaxies with overmassive black holes. Intriguingly, we find all of these explanations to be incomplete; deeper and redder data are needed to understand the physics of these systems.

We present a dimensionless index that quantifies the degree of cloudiness of the atmosphere of a transiting exoplanet. Our cloudiness index is based on measuring the transit radii associated with the line center and wing of the sodium or potassium line. In deriving this index, we revisited the algebraic formulae for inferring the isothermal pressure scale height from transit measurements. We demonstrate that the formulae of Lecavelier et al. and Benneke & Seager are identical: the former is inferring the temperature while assuming a value for the mean molecular mass and the latter is inferring the mean molecular mass while assuming a value for the temperature. More importantly, these formulae cannot be used to distinguish between cloudy and cloud-free atmospheres. We derive values of our cloudiness index for a small sample of seven hot Saturns/Jupiters taken from Sing et al. We show that WASP-17b, WASP-31b, and HAT-P-1b are nearly cloud-free at visible wavelengths. We find the tentative trend that more irradiated atmospheres tend to have fewer clouds consisting of sub-micron-sized particles. We also derive absolute sodium and/or potassium abundances ∼10² cm⁻³ for WASP-17b, WASP-31b, and HAT-P-1b (and upper limits for the other objects). Higher-resolution measurements of both the sodium and potassium lines, for a larger sample of exoplanetary atmospheres, are needed to confirm or refute this trend.

We present high-definition observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of >1000 Cepheids in a geometric anchor of the distance ladder, NGC 4258, and in five hosts of eight Type Ia supernovae, a far greater sample than previous studies with JWST. These galaxies individually contain the largest samples of Cepheids, an average of >150 each, producing the strongest statistical comparison to those previously measured with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in the near-infrared (NIR). They also span the distance range of those used to determine the Hubble constant with HST, allowing us to search for a distance-dependent bias in HST measurements. The superior resolution of JWST negates crowding noise, the largest source of variance in the NIR Cepheid period–luminosity relations (Leavitt laws) measured with HST. Together with the use of two epochs to constrain Cepheid phases and three filters to remove reddening, we reduce the dispersion in the Cepheid P–L relations by a factor of 2.5. We find no significant difference in the mean distance measurements determined from HST and JWST, with a formal difference of −0.01 ± 0.03 mag. This result is independent of zero-points and analysis variants including metallicity dependence, local crowding, choice of filters, and slope of the relations. We can reject the hypothesis of unrecognized crowding of Cepheid photometry from HST that grows with distance as the cause of the "Hubble tension" at 8.2σ, i.e., greater confidence than that of the Hubble tension itself. We conclude that errors in photometric measurements of Cepheids across the distance ladder do not significantly contribute to the tension.

LHS 1140 b is the second-closest temperate transiting planet to Earth with an equilibrium temperature low enough to support surface liquid water. At 1.730 ± 0.025 R_⊕, LHS 1140 b falls within the radius valley separating H₂-rich mini-Neptunes from rocky super-Earths. Recent mass and radius revisions indicate a bulk density significantly lower than expected for an Earth-like rocky interior, suggesting that LHS 1140 b could be either a mini-Neptune with a small envelope of hydrogen (∼0.1% by mass) or a water world (9%–19% water by mass). Atmospheric characterization through transmission spectroscopy can readily discern between these two scenarios. Here we present two JWST/NIRISS transit observations of LHS 1140 b, one of which captures a serendipitous transit of LHS 1140 c. The combined transmission spectrum of LHS 1140 b shows a telltale spectral signature of unocculted faculae (5.8σ), covering ∼20% of the visible stellar surface. Besides faculae, our spectral retrieval analysis reveals tentative evidence of residual spectral features, best fit by Rayleigh scattering from a N₂-dominated atmosphere (2.3σ), irrespective of the consideration of atmospheric hazes. We also show through Global Climate Models (GCMs) that H₂-rich atmospheres of various compositions (100×, 300×, 1000× solar metallicity) are ruled out to >10σ. The GCM calculations predict that water clouds form below the transit photosphere, limiting their impact on transmission data. Our observations suggest that LHS 1140 b is either airless or, more likely, surrounded by an atmosphere with a high mean molecular weight. Our tentative evidence of a N₂-rich atmosphere provides strong motivation for future transmission spectroscopy observations of LHS 1140 b.

Telescopic sunspot observations began in 1610 and captured subsequent solar cycles. In combination with proxy reconstructions on an annual scale, these data sets indicate a gradual transition between regular solar cycles and the Maunder Minimum. The telescopic sunspot observations missed the beginning of the first telescopic solar cycle (Solar Cycle −13), leaving room for considerable uncertainty as to its temporal evolution. Before these early telescopic observations, however, Kepler made solar observations using camerae obscurae and recorded a sunspot group in three solar drawings in 1607. Here, we make use of Kepler's sunspot drawings and descriptive texts to identify his observational sites and time stamps. We have deprojected his sunspot drawings and compared the reported positions with our calculations of the inclination of the solar equator as seen from these sites at that time. These results locate the reported sunspot group near the solar equator eastward from the central meridian. This contrasts with telescopic sunspot drawings from the 1610s that show sunspot groups in the higher heliographic latitudes. Therefore, what Kepler saw was probably a sunspot group from Solar Cycle −14, rather than one from Solar Cycle −13. These records allow us to place the beginning of Solar Cycle −13 between 1607 and 1610. In comparison with the ¹⁴C-based solar-cycle reconstructions, our result supports regular solar-cycle durations around the 1610s, rather than any suggested extreme extensions of the solar-cycle duration(s) around the 1610s.

The Uranian moon Ariel exhibits a diversity of geologically young landforms, with a surface composition rich in CO₂ ice. The origin of CO₂ and other species, however, remains uncertain. We report observations of Ariel's leading and trailing hemispheres, collected with NIRSpec (2.87–5.10 μm) on the James Webb Space Telescope. These data shed new light on Ariel's spectral properties, revealing a double-lobed CO₂ ice scattering peak centered near 4.20 and 4.25 μm, with the 4.25 μm lobe possibly representing the largest CO₂ Fresnel peak yet observed in the solar system. A prominent 4.38 μm ¹³CO₂ ice feature is also present, as is a 4.90 μm band that results from ¹²CO₂ ice. The spectra reveal a 4.67 μm ¹²CO ice band and a broad 4.02 μm band that might result from carbonate minerals. The data confirm that features associated with CO₂ and CO are notably stronger on Ariel's trailing hemisphere compared to its leading hemisphere. We compared the detected CO₂ features to synthetic spectra of CO₂ ice and mixtures of CO₂ with CO, H₂O, and amorphous carbon, finding that CO₂ could be concentrated in deposits thicker than ∼10 mm on Ariel's trailing hemisphere. Comparison to laboratory data indicates that CO is likely mixed with CO₂. The evidence for thick CO₂ ice deposits and the possible presence of carbonates on both hemispheres suggests that some carbon oxides could be sourced from Ariel's interior, with their surface distributions modified by charged particle bombardment, sublimation, and seasonal migration of CO and CO₂ from high to low latitudes.

We report multiple lines of evidence for a stochastic signal that is correlated among 67 pulsars from the 15 yr pulsar timing data set collected by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves. The correlations follow the Hellings–Downs pattern expected for a stochastic gravitational-wave background. The presence of such a gravitational-wave background with a power-law spectrum is favored over a model with only independent pulsar noises with a Bayes factor in excess of 10¹⁴, and this same model is favored over an uncorrelated common power-law spectrum model with Bayes factors of 200–1000, depending on spectral modeling choices. We have built a statistical background distribution for the latter Bayes factors using a method that removes interpulsar correlations from our data set, finding p = 10⁻³ (≈3σ) for the observed Bayes factors in the null no-correlation scenario. A frequentist test statistic built directly as a weighted sum of interpulsar correlations yields p = 5 × 10⁻⁵ to 1.9 × 10⁻⁴ (≈3.5σ–4σ). Assuming a fiducial f^−2/3 characteristic strain spectrum, as appropriate for an ensemble of binary supermassive black hole inspirals, the strain amplitude is ${2.4}_{-0.6}^{+0.7}\times {10}^{-15}$ (median + 90% credible interval) at a reference frequency of 1 yr⁻¹. The inferred gravitational-wave background amplitude and spectrum are consistent with astrophysical expectations for a signal from a population of supermassive black hole binaries, although more exotic cosmological and astrophysical sources cannot be excluded. The observation of Hellings–Downs correlations points to the gravitational-wave origin of this signal.

When surrounded by a transparent emission region, black holes are expected to reveal a dark shadow caused by gravitational light bending and photon capture at the event horizon. To image and study this phenomenon, we have assembled the Event Horizon Telescope, a global very long baseline interferometry array observing at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. This allows us to reconstruct event-horizon-scale images of the supermassive black hole candidate in the center of the giant elliptical galaxy M87. We have resolved the central compact radio source as an asymmetric bright emission ring with a diameter of 42 ± 3 μas, which is circular and encompasses a central depression in brightness with a flux ratio ≳10:1. The emission ring is recovered using different calibration and imaging schemes, with its diameter and width remaining stable over four different observations carried out in different days. Overall, the observed image is consistent with expectations for the shadow of a Kerr black hole as predicted by general relativity. The asymmetry in brightness in the ring can be explained in terms of relativistic beaming of the emission from a plasma rotating close to the speed of light around a black hole. We compare our images to an extensive library of ray-traced general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of black holes and derive a central mass of M = (6.5 ± 0.7) × 10⁹ M_⊙. Our radio-wave observations thus provide powerful evidence for the presence of supermassive black holes in centers of galaxies and as the central engines of active galactic nuclei. They also present a new tool to explore gravity in its most extreme limit and on a mass scale that was so far not accessible.

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of $\sim 1.7\,{\rm{s}}$ with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg² at a luminosity distance of ${40}_{-8}^{+8}$ Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 $\,{M}_{\odot }$. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at $\sim 40\,{\rm{Mpc}}$) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient's position $\sim 9$ and $\sim 16$ days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta.

We use a new deprojection formula to infer the gravitational potential around isolated galaxies from weak gravitational lensing. The results imply circular velocity curves that remain flat for hundreds of kiloparsecs, greatly extending the classic result from 21 cm observations. Indeed, there is no clear hint of a decline out to 1 Mpc, well beyond the expected virial radii of dark matter halos. Binning the data by mass reveals a correlation with the flat circular speed that closely agrees with the baryonic Tully–Fisher relation known from kinematic data. These results apply to both early- and late-type galaxies, indicating a common universal behavior.

We study the gas inflows toward the Galactic Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) based on the gas morphological and kinematic features from the Milky Way Imaging Scroll Painting in the region of l = 12–190 and ∣b∣ ≲ 30. We find that the near dust lane appears to extend to l ∼ 15°, in which the end of the large-scale gas structure intersects with the 3 kpc ring at a distance of ∼5 kpc. Intriguingly, many filamentary molecular clouds (MCs), together with the bow-like/ballistic-like clouds and continuous CO features with notable velocity gradient, are finely outlined along the long structure. These MCs also have relatively large velocity dispersions, indicating the shocked gas generated by local continuous accretion and thus the enhanced turbulence along the entire gas structure. We suggest that the ∼3.1–3.6 kpc-long CO structure originates from the accretion molecular gas driven by the Galactic bar. The gas near the bar end at the 3 kpc ring region becomes an important reservoir for the large-scale accreting flows inward to the CMZ through the bar channel. The inclination angle of the bar is estimated to be ϕ_bar = 23° ± 3°, while the pattern speed of the bar is Ω_bar ≲ 32.5 ± 2.5 km s⁻¹ kpc⁻¹. The total mass of the whole near gas lane is about 1.3 ± 0.4 × 10⁷M_⊙ according to the calculated X_CO ∼ 1.0 ± 0.4 × 10²⁰ cm⁻²(K km s⁻¹)⁻¹ from the large-scale ¹²CO and ¹³CO data and the complementary H i data. We revisit the gas inflow rate as a mean value of 1.1 ± 0.3 M_⊙ yr⁻¹, which seems to be comparable to the outflow's rate of the Galactic nuclear winds after applying the updated lower X-factor above.

Recent work by Moroianu et al. has suggested that the binary neutron star (BNS) merger GW190425 might have a potential fast radio burst (FRB) counterpart association, FRB20190425A, at the 2.8σ level of confidence with a likely host galaxy association, namely UGC10667. The authors argue that the observations are consistent with a long-lived hypermassive neutron star (HMNS) that formed promptly after the BNS merger and was stable for approximately 2.5 hr before promptly collapsing into a black hole. Recently, Bhardwaj et al. conclusively associated FRB20190425A with UGC10667, potentially providing a direct host galaxy candidate for GW190425. In this work, we examine the multimessenger association based on the spacetime localization overlaps between GW190425 and the FRB host galaxy UGC10667 and find that the odds for a coincident association are ${ \mathcal O }(5)$. We validate this estimate by using a Gaussian process density estimator. Assuming that the association is indeed real, we then perform Bayesian parameter estimation on GW190425 assuming that the BNS event took place in UGC10667. We find that the viewing angle of GW190425 excludes an on-axis system at p(θ_v > 30°) ≈ 99.99%, highly favoring an off-axis system similar to GRB 170817A. We also find a slightly higher source frame total mass for the binary, namely, ${m}_{\mathrm{total}}={3.42}_{-0.11}^{+0.34}{M}_{\odot }$, leading to an increase in the probability of prompt collapse into a black hole and therefore disfavors the long-lived HMNS formation scenario. Given our findings, we conclude that the association between GW190425 and FRB20190425A is disfavoured by current state-of-the-art gravitational-wave analyses.

We search for globular clusters (GCs) trapped in resonances with the bar of the Milky Way (MW). By integrating their orbits in a potential with a decelerating bar, we select 10 whose orbits are significantly changed by its presence. Most of these are trapped in the corotation resonance, including M22 and 47 Tuc. The decelerating bar is capable of transporting these GCs to their current positions from much lower energies, angular momenta, and radii. Our results indicate that the bar is likely to have reshaped the MW's GC system via its resonances. We also discuss implications for the origins of specific GCs, including the possible nuclear star cluster M22. Finally, we consider the effects of the bar on the tidal tails of a trapped GC by running simulations of stars stripped from 47 Tuc. Instead of forming narrow tails, the stripped stars make up a diffuse extended halo around the cluster, consistent with observations of 47 Tuc.

This Letter presents results from Kepler photometric light curves and a high-resolution spectroscopic study of a super-Li-rich giant KIC11087027. Using the light-curve analysis, we measured the star's rotational period P_rot = 30.4 ± 0.1 days, which translates to rotational velocity V_rot = 19.5 ± 1.7 km s⁻¹. The star's location in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, derived values of ¹²C/¹³C = 7 ± 1 and [C/N] = −0.95 ± 0.2, and the inferred asteroseismic parameters from secondary calibration based on spectra suggest the star is a low-mass red clump giant in the He-core burning phase. Using Gaia data, we found evidence of variation in radial velocity and proper motion, indicative of presence of an unresolved binary. The large V_rot is probably a result of tidal synchronization combined with the aftereffects of He flash, in which the size of the star is reduced significantly. The simultaneous presence of features like high rotation, very high Li abundance, strong dust shell, and strong flares in a single star is relatively uncommon, suggesting that the star experiencing tidal synchronization has recently undergone He flash. The results pose a question whether the binary interaction, hence the high rotation, is a prerequisite for the dredging up of the high amounts of Li from the interior to the photosphere during or immediately after the He-flash event.