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    Artist's renditions of the space weather around M dwarf TIC 141146667.  The torus of ionized gas is sculpted by the star's magnetic field and rotation, with two pinched, dense clumps present on opposing sides of the star. Illustrations by Navid Marvi, courtesy Carnegie Science.
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    Shreyas Vissapragada
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    This artist’s concept shows what the ultra-hot super-Earth exoplanet TOI-561 b could look like based on observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and other observatories. Webb data suggests that the planet is surrounded by a thick atmosphere above a global magma ocean. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)
    Breaking News
    December 10, 2025

    Ultra-hot lava world has thick atmosphere, upending expectations

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artist's impression of 51 Pegasi b. Courtesy ESO/Kornmesser.
July 08, 2024
Organizational News

Carnegie Science selected as host institution for Heising-Simons 51 Pegasi b Fellows

Abstract
HZ610x Genomics HZ810x Genomics HZ910x Genomics Crop_R1Illumina RiboZero TruSeq Crop_R2Illumina RiboZero TruSeq Crop_R3Illumina RiboZero TruSeq SG_R1Illumina PolyA TruSeq SG_R2Illumina PolyA TruSeq SG_R3Illumina PolyA TruSeq PV_GF_R1Illumina RiboZero TruSeq PV_GF_R2Illumina RiboZero TruSeq PV_GF_R3Illumina RiboZero TruSeq PV_GF_R4Illumina RiboZero TruSeq PV_GF_R5Illumina RiboZero TruSeq PV_LpWF_R1Illumina RiboZero TruSeq PV_LpWF_R2Illumina RiboZero TruSeq PV_LpWF_R3Illumina RiboZero TruSeq PV_LpWF_R4Illumina RiboZero TruSeq PV_LpWF_R5Illumina RiboZero TruSeq Adult Drosophila foregut contains a diverse set of tissue and cell types. We applied single cell RnA sequencing (scRnA-seq) and bulk RnA sequencing (bulk RnA-seq) to delineate the cellular composition and molecular profile of the foregut and its associated physiological functions.
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Brittany Belin with plants
July 23, 2024
Q&A

Meet Brittany Belin

Abstract
The photosynthetic amoeba, Paulinella provides a recent (ca. 120 Mya) example of primary plastid endosymbiosis. Given the extensive data demonstrating host lineage-driven endosymbiont integration, we analysed nuclear genome and transcriptome data to investigate mechanisms that may have evolved in Paulinella micropora KR01 (hereinafter, KR01) to maintain photosynthetic function in the novel organelle, the chromatophore. The chromatophore is of alpha-cyanobacterial provenance and has undergone massive gene loss due to Muller's ratchet, but still retains genes that encode the ancestral alpha-carboxysome and the shell carbonic anhydrase, two critical components of the biophysical CO2 concentrating mechanism (CCM) in cyanobacteria. We identified KR01 nuclear genes potentially involved in the CCM that arose via duplication and divergence and are upregulated in response to high light and downregulated under elevated CO2. We speculate that these genes may comprise a novel CO2 delivery system (i.e., a biochemical CCM) to promote the turnover of the RuBisCO carboxylation reaction and counteract photorespiration. We posit that KR01 has an inefficient photorespiratory system that cannot fully recycle the C-2 product of RuBisCO oxygenation back to the Calvin-Benson cycle. Nonetheless, both these systems appear to be sufficient to allow Paulinella to persist in environments dominated by faster-growing phototrophs.
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Abstract
The signal from a transiting planet can be diluted by astrophysical contamination. In the case of circumstellar debris disks, this contamination could start in the mid-infrared and vary as a function of wavelength, which would then change the observed transmission spectrum for any planet in the system. The MIRI/Low Resolution Spectrometer WASP-39b transmission spectrum shows an unexplained dip starting at similar to 10 mu m that could be caused by astrophysical contamination. The spectral energy distribution displays excess flux at similar levels to that which are needed to create the dip in the transmission spectrum. In this Letter, we show that this dip is consistent with the presence of a bright circumstellar debris disk, at a distance of >2 au. We discuss how a circumstellar debris disk like that could affect the atmosphere of WASP-39b. We also show that even faint debris disks can be a source of contamination in MIRI exoplanet spectra.
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Abstract
Context. Long-period transiting exoplanets bridge the gap between the bulk of transit- and Doppler-based exoplanet discoveries, providing key insights into the formation and evolution of planetary systems. The wider separation between these planets and their host stars results in the exoplanets typically experiencing less radiation from their host stars; hence, they should maintain more of their original atmospheres, which can be probed during transit via transmission spectroscopy. Although the known population of long-period transiting exoplanets is relatively sparse, surveys performed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) are now discovering new exoplanets to fill in this crucial region of the exoplanetary parameter space.
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Abstract
Stellar streams are sensitive tracers of the gravitational potential, which is typically assumed to be static in the inner Galaxy. However, massive mergers like Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus can impart torques on the stellar disk of the Milky Way that result in the disk tilting at rates of up to 10 degrees-20 degrees Gyr-1. Here, we demonstrate the effects of disk tilting on the morphology and kinematics of stellar streams. Through a series of numerical experiments, we find that streams with nearby apocenters (r apo less than or similar to 20 kpc) are sensitive to disk tilting, with the primary effect being changes to the stream's on-sky track and width. Interestingly, disk tilting can produce both more diffuse streams and more narrow streams, depending on the orbital inclination of the progenitor and the direction in which the disk is tilting. Our model of Pal 5's tidal tails for a tilting rate of 15 degrees Gyr-1 is in excellent agreement with the observed stream's track and width, and reproduces the extreme narrowing of the trailing tail. We also find that failure to account for a tilting disk can bias constraints on shape parameters of the Milky Way's local dark matter distribution at the level of 5%-10%, with the direction of the bias changing for different streams. Disk tilting could therefore explain discrepancies in the Milky Way's dark matter halo shape inferred using different streams.
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Abstract
The PHANGS survey uses Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, Hubble Space Telescope, Very Large Telescope, and JWST to obtain an unprecedented high-resolution view of nearby galaxies, covering millions of spatially independent regions. The high dimensionality of such a diverse multiwavelength data set makes it challenging to identify new trends, particularly when they connect observables from different wavelengths. Here, we use unsupervised machine-learning algorithms to mine this information-rich data set to identify novel patterns. We focus on three of the PHANGS-JWST galaxies, for which we extract properties pertaining to their stellar populations; warm ionized and cold molecular gas; and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as measured over 150 pc scale regions. We show that we can divide the regions into groups with distinct multiphase gas and PAH properties. In the process, we identify previously unknown galaxy-wide correlations between PAH band and optical line ratios and use our identified groups to interpret them. The correlations we measure can be naturally explained in a scenario where the PAHs and the ionized gas are exposed to different parts of the same radiation field that varies spatially across the galaxies. This scenario has several implications for nearby galaxies: (i) The uniform PAH ionized fraction on 150 pc scales suggests significant self-regulation in the interstellar medium, (ii) the PAH 11.3/7.7 mu m band ratio may be used to constrain the shape of the non-ionizing far-ultraviolet to optical part of the radiation field, and (iii) the varying radiation field affects line ratios that are commonly used as PAH size diagnostics. Neglecting this effect leads to incorrect or biased PAH sizes.
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Maxine Singer talks to First Light students during a fieldtrip to a lab
July 09, 2024
Organizational News

Maxine Singer, renowned biologist and advocate for STEM inclusion, dies at 93

Abstract
On September 24, 2023, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission dropped a capsule to Earth containing similar to 120 g of pristine carbonaceous regolith from Bennu. We describe the delivery and initial allocation of this asteroid sample and introduce its bulk physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties from early analyses. The regolith is very dark overall, with higher-reflectance inclusions and particles interspersed. Particle sizes range from submicron dust to a stone similar to 3.5 cm long. Millimeter-scale and larger stones typically have hummocky or angular morphologies. Some stones appear mottled by brighter material that occurs as veins and crusts. Hummocky stones have the lowest densities and mottled stones have the highest. Remote sensing of Bennu's surface detected hydrated phyllosilicates, magnetite, organic compounds, carbonates, and scarce anhydrous silicates, all of which the sample confirms. We also find sulfides, presolar grains, and, less expectedly, Mg,Na-rich phosphates, as well as other trace phases. The sample's composition and mineralogy indicate substantial aqueous alteration and resemble those of Ryugu and the most chemically primitive, low-petrologic-type carbonaceous chondrites. Nevertheless, we find distinct hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopic compositions, and some of the material we analyzed is enriched in fluid-mobile elements. Our findings underscore the value of sample return-especially for low-density material that may not readily survive atmospheric entry-and lay the groundwork for more comprehensive analyses.
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