SpaceOne Times

Astrophysics

VLT/MUSE Confirms 55 Strong Gravitational Lens Systems

Astronomers using the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope have spectroscopically confirmed 55 strong gravitational lens systems selected from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys. The team analysed 223 spectra across 76 candidates, measuring both lens and background-source redshifts in the confirmed systems. The resulting sample includes multiple-source-plane lenses, group and cluster environments, and background galaxies extending beyond redshift 3.

Galaxies

Three Quenched Dwarf Galaxies May Be M101 Backsplash Objects

Astronomers have identified three faint, quiescent dwarf galaxy candidates beyond the estimated virial radius of M101. Their structure, lack of recent star formation and provisional distances are consistent with a possible “backsplash” origin, in which galaxies previously passed through M101’s halo before moving back outward. Hubble or JWST observations will be required to determine their distances more precisely and test that interpretation.

Plasma Physics

Solar Orbiter Traces Magnetic Switchbacks to Interchange Reconnection

Solar Orbiter measurements have provided direct evidence linking a magnetic switchback in the solar wind to plasma originating in hot, closed coronal structures. Heavy-ion charge states, helium abundance and coronal modelling point to interchange reconnection as the process that released the plasma, while Alfvén-like behaviour suggests waves or turbulence helped the structure propagate through the solar wind.