Vol. 684 10. Planets and planetary systems Thermal tides in neutrally stratified atmospheres: Revisiting the Earth's Precambrian rotational equilibrium by Mohammad Farhat, Pierre Auclair-Desrotour, Gwenaël Boué, Russell Deitrick, Jacques Laskar 2024, A&A, 684, A49 The climatic history of the Earth is scarcely constrained. A key element to model is the length of the day, which was likely shorter in the past than it is now. The variation in the length of the day is a consequence of the Earth's spin variation, resulting from different torques involving the Earth, the Sun, the Moon, the atmos ..read more

Vol. 683 2. Astrophysical processes The nature of the X-ray filaments around bow shock pulsar wind nebulae by Barbara Olmi, Elena Amato, Rino Bandiera, Pasquale Blasi 2024, A&A, 683, L1 When a pulsar moves across the interstellar medium, it is likely to release energetic leptons. In some cases, they become visible as a linear, filamentary structure emitting X-rays. These structures could be as long as 15 pc, as in the Lighthouse Nebula, but with a very small cross section (1-10% of the length). In this Letter, Olmi and collaborators suggest that the X-ray emission of these filaments can b ..read more

Vol. 681 10. Planets and planetary systems Formation of flattened planetesimals by gravitational collapse of rotating pebble clouds by Sebastian Lorek, Anders Johansen 2024, A&A, 681, A38 In their study, Lorek & Johansen delve into the fascinating process of how a kilometer-sized planetesimal might form from a rotating cloud of pebbles. They used a Monte Carlo method to simulate this complex process and find that when pebble clouds that rotate slowly collapse under their own gravity, they can form shapes such as flattened ellipsoids. This finding provides insights into the unique shap ..read more

Vol. 682 6. Interstellar and circumstellar matter eROSITA studies of the Carina nebula by Manami Sasaki, Jan Robrade, G.H. Martin Krause, R. Jonathan Knies, Kisetsu Tsuge, Gerd Pühlhofer, Andrew Strong 2024, A&A, 682, A172 Whatever might be wanted to study feedback processes and the symbiosis of stars and interstellar clouds can be found in the Carina nebula. This star-forming region harbors a broad range of massive stars, including the ever-popular luminous blue variable (and multiple interacting wind system) eta Carina. The region and its core clusters have been subject to continuing mu ..read more

Vol. 682 6. Interstellar and circumstellar matter eROSITA studies of the Carina nebula by Manami Sasaki, Jan Robrade, G.H. Martin Krause, R. Jonathan Knies, Kisetsu Tsuge, Gerd Pühlhofer, Andrew Strong 2024, A&A, 682, A172 Whatever might be wanted to study feedback processes and the symbiosis of stars and interstellar clouds can be found in the Carina nebula. This star-forming region harbors a broad range of massive stars, including the ever-popular luminous blue variable (and multiple interacting wind system) eta Carina. The region and its core clusters have been subject to continuing m ..read more

Vol. 682 7. Stellar structure and evolution PSR J0210+5845: Ultra-wide binary pulsar with a B6 V main sequence star companion by E. van der Wateren, C. G. Bassa, G. H. Janssen, I. V. Yanes-Rizo, J. Casares, G. Nelemans, W. B. Stappers, C. M. Tan 2024, A&A, 682, A178 A neutron star forms in the explosion of a massive star as a supernova. When the exploding star is part of a binary system, the binary usually gets disrupted. In favorable conditions (e.g., asymmetries in the supernova explosion), however, the binary system can survive, leaving a newborn neutron star orbiting a massive compani ..read more

Vol. 682 12. Atomic, molecular, and nuclear data The UMIST database for astrochemistry 2022 by T. J. Millar, C. Walsh, M. Van de Sande, A. J. Markwick 2024, A&A, 682, A109 Detailed astrochemical models are necessary for interpreting the observations of interstellar and circumstellar molecules. They depend on the values of the rate coefficients of individual chemical reactions, and these need to be continuously updated to reflect advances in experimental and theoretical estimates. In this volume, Tom Millar and collaborators present the sixth release of the UMIST Database for Astrochemistr ..read more

Vol. 682 10. Planets and planetary systems Secular change in the spin states of asteroids due to radiation and gravitation torques. New detections and updates of the YORP effect by J. Durech, D. Vokrouhlicky, P. Pravec, et al. 2024, A&A, 682, A93 The motion of near-Earth asteroids is significantly influenced by non-gravitational forces, specifically thermal torques resulting from the proximity to the Sun. These effects are known as the Yarkovsky effect for orbital dynamics and the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect when impacting the object's rotation. The latter effect i ..read more

Vol. 681 2. Astrophysical processes A MeerKAT view of the double pulsar eclipses. Geodetic precession of pulsar B and system geometry by M.E. Lower, M. Kramer, R.M. Shannon, R.P. Breton, N. Wex, et al. 2024, A&A, 681, A26 PSR J0737−3039A/B is a unique double neutron star binary system in which both neutron stars are detected as radio pulsars. In addition, the system is viewed almost edge on (90.5 deg), allowing us to study the interaction of a radio signal with the neutron star magnetosphere. A variety of general relativity tests could be carried out on this system. In this paper, Lower a ..read more

Vol. 682 9. The Sun and the Heliosphere A comparative study of two X2.2 and X9.3 solar flares observed with HARPS-N. Reconciling Sun-as-a-star spectroscopy and high-spatial resolution solar observations in the context of the solar-stellar connection by A.G.M. Pietrow, M. Cretignier, M.K. Druett, et al. 2024, A&A, 682, A46 By virtue of its proximity, the Sun has always been observed and treated differently than the more distant exemplars. However, with advances in detectors and spectrographs, it has become increasingly more feasible to obtain a similar level of information for more remote ..read more