Finally, Michelle highlighted a paper using the new and fresh Rubin DP2 data! This data happened to cover a known Milky Way ultra faint, Virgo III. The LSST data is much deeper, quadrupling the members and showing us the power of LSST! Tune in onstarxiv.com for more. 🔭 arxiv.org/abs/2607.25044

Payel's second paper has found evidence with JWST for the earliest ever (redshift ~1) seen X-shaped bulge in a disk galaxy. Tune in to our latest episode at starxiv.com to learn more. arxiv.org/pdf/2607.00982 🔭

Michelle's 2nd paper dove into the enigmatic Tabby's star. Originally deemed to have a wacky lightcurve in 2016, it's been a puzzle to understand. Using Tess data, this paper finds evidence for a giant companion! Tune into our latest episode at starxiv.com to learn more 🔭 arxiv.org/abs/2607.20643

Payel's first paper looked at the ability of Large Language Models from 2025 to carry out faithful literature reviews. A comparison with more recent model shows that it's only getting better! Tune in to our latest episode at starxiv.com to learn more. arxiv.org/pdf/2607.25672 🔭

Michelle's first paper looked at using JWST and the cosmic gems arc to measure the ages of globular clusters over cosmic time to independently measure H0 and the age of the Universe! Tune in to our latest episode at starxiv.com to learn more. arxiv.org/abs/2607.19472 🔭

Episode 41 – the age of the Universe, AI and literature reviews, and giant companions Payel and Michelle delve into another group of wonderful papers on the astronomy arxiv! They discuss dating the Universe, comparing 2025 large language models in their ability to assist with literature views,…

Episode 41 – the age of the Universe, AI and literature reviews, and giant companions

Payel and Michelle delve into another group of wonderful papers on the astronomy arxiv! They discuss dating the Universe, comparing 2025 large language models in their ability to assist with literature views, telling apart exocomets and giant companions, early signatures of secular evolution in disk galaxies, and the abundance of data to come from Vera Rubin.

starxiv.com

Michelle's second paper this episode was on Maisie's galaxy and whether this is the first "typical" very luminous red shift > 10 galaxy. Deep JWST data paints a beautiful portrait of this interesting system ☄️🔭 arxiv.org/abs/2607.08749 starxiv.com/2026/07/21/e...

Michelle's first paper is hunting for Dyson spheres! The authors used JWST to follow up two M dwarf stars with an infrared signature at their position. The results? These two objects are not Dyson spheres. The hunt for alien life continues! 👽🔭☄️🧪https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.09460

Payel's second paper delves into a high-resolution simulation of a merger between an Andromeda-like galaxy and another massive gas disc, explaining many features in the disc including an inflated disc. Find out more at arxiv.org/pdf/2607.02480.

Payel's first paper proposed a new mechanism for reproducing the peculiar abundance patterns in globular clusters, without the need for anything too exotic.

Episode 40 – globular clusters, extended disks, high redshift galaxies and aliens! In this episode, Michelle and Payel explore the search for extra-terrestrial life, mechanisms for light element variations in globular clusters, characteristics of a typical galaxy at z>10, and Andromeda's extended…

Episode 40 – globular clusters, extended disks, high redshift galaxies and aliens!

In this episode, Michelle and Payel explore the search for extra-terrestrial life, mechanisms for light element variations in globular clusters, characteristics of a typical galaxy at z>10, and Andromeda's extended stellar disc origin.

starxiv.com

Payel's second paper discussed the origin of solar flare ribbons. New observations of the lower solar atmosphere where they are actually observed show that its morphology plays an important role in how they look. 🔭 ☄️ arxiv.org/pdf/2606.10505

Nicole's second paper asks how many independent things a galaxy's spectrum can tell you. A neural net built to find independent factors says 5: stellar mass, star formation, dust, and two for the gas's ionization. Notably, age and metallicity aren't among them. arxiv.org/abs/2606.11308 ☄️🔭

Payel's first paper discussed how black holes are fed. New JWST observerations track the flow of gas from the kiloparsec-scale filamentary structure to the sub-kiloparsec scale via a circumnuclear disk. 🔭 ☄️ arxiv.org/pdf/2606.06620

Nicole's first paper asks how much a galaxy spectrum can tell you - using simple PCA! The dominant axis tracks mainly stellar age and helps partly untangle the age–metallicity degeneracy. Interestingly, the least dominant axis is the one that catches recent starbursts. arxiv.org/abs/2606.13791 ☄️🔭

Episode 39 – data-driven stellar population studies, multi-scale AGN feedback, and solar flare ribbons In this episode, Payel and Nicole discuss machine learning methods to to transform composite galaxy spectra and determine key features of galaxy evolution. They also examine new observations of…

Episode 39 – data-driven stellar population studies, multi-scale AGN feedback, and solar flare ribbons

In this episode, Payel and Nicole discuss machine learning methods to to transform composite galaxy spectra and determine key features of galaxy evolution. They also examine new observations of the Centarus cluster with JWST, closing the loop on AGN feedback across multiple radial scales. Finally, they discuss new solar observations that shed new light on the formation of solar flare ribbons.

starxiv.com

Michelle's second paper asked if we can classify supernova from photometry alone. This is not without problems, given imbalance of types of supernova in training sets, and shifting between different datasets. But, this teams mixing approach works really well! arxiv.org/abs/2605.28922 ☄️ 🔭

Photometry is all you need: supernova classification as a mixing problem

In the era of large-scale photometric surveys, scalable and robust methods for classifying supernova (SN) populations are increasingly necessary. Often, spectroscopy is essential in addition to…

arxiv.org

Nicole's second paper is a deep look at one ordinary spiral, W2246f, mapped edge to edge with MUSE. Its centre looks like it hosts an active nucleus using standard diagnostics, but better diagnostics show it's just old, quiet stars; a galaxy quenching from the inside out. arxiv.org/abs/2605.29014 ☄️🔭

Nicole's first paper asks if a swallowed planet explains why one star in the HD 81809 binary is far more iron-rich than its twin. The problem: any planet big enough to fix the iron adds too much lithium. The iron needs ~50 Earth-masses to match, the lithium needs under 6. arxiv.org/abs/2605.31060 ☄️🔭

Michelle's first paper looked at using vision-language models and a Bayesian uncertainty framework for classifying galaxies undergoing mergers, Turns out, the machines can do as well as human experts! 🔭 ☄️https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.00415

Episode 38 is live! Tune in below or anywhere you get podcast to hear Michelle and Nicole discuss machine learning methods for classifying mergers and supernova, unusual chemistry in binary systems and an awesome spiral galaxy with exquisite deep MUSE data. starxiv.com/2026/06/08/e... 🔭 ☄️

Episode 38 – merging galaxies, exploding stars and the beauty of individual galaxies In this episode, Michelle and Nicole explore machine learning techniques for classifying merging galaxies and supernovae. They discuss planetary engulfment's role in unusual chemical signatures in binary systems…

Episode 38 – merging galaxies, exploding stars and the beauty of individual galaxies

In this episode, Michelle and Nicole explore machine learning techniques for classifying merging galaxies and supernovae. They discuss planetary engulfment's role in unusual chemical signatures in binary systems and analyse MUSE data of a spiral galaxy.

starxiv.com

Our latest episode is live! Check it out at our website or wherever you get your podcasts ☄️🔭 Episode 37 – Lunar craters, primordial black holes & growing galaxies – The StarXiv share.google/V8rnL5YYGqL0...

Episode 37 – Lunar craters, primordial black holes & growing galaxies

In this episode, Michelle and Nicole explore primordial magnetic fields, the memory of Galactic mergers, and the origins of Venus’s carbon dioxide atmosphere. They also examine how Galactic s…

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Payel's second paper uses detailed observations from JWST and HST to derive age and metallicity profiles in redshift-one galaxies and better constrain the balance between evolutionary processes driving disk growth. Find out more at arxiv.org/pdf/2605.15327 ☄️🔭

In her second paper, Michelle discusses a machine learning technique to classify groups of galaxies that are falling in to clusters. If we can study these in detail, we can learn about the impact of the cluster on these galaxies before they fall in. Tune in for more! arxiv.org/abs/2605.14930 🔭 ☄️

Michelle discusses the detection of Phoebe, a possible primordial black hole (PBH) in the Milky Way halo. Using DECam and microlensing, this object was found and the paper describes how they come to the conclusion that it is a likely PBH. Tune in to discover more! arxiv.org/abs/2605.19375 🔭 ☄️

Payel's first paper discussed a new theory to explain the difference in the distribution of craters across the moon. Find out more at arxiv.org/pdf/2605.09884 ☄️🔭

Episode 37 – Lunar craters, primordial black holes & growing galaxies In this episode, Michelle and Nicole explore primordial magnetic fields, the memory of Galactic mergers, and the origins of Venus's carbon dioxide atmosphere. They also examine how Galactic stars can help predict extragalactic…

Episode 37 – Lunar craters, primordial black holes & growing galaxies

In this episode, Michelle and Nicole explore primordial magnetic fields, the memory of Galactic mergers, and the origins of Venus's carbon dioxide atmosphere. They also examine how Galactic stars can help predict extragalactic abundances. Listeners can access the episode on various platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

starxiv.com

Nicole’s second paper tests whether nucleosynthesis is universal by using Milky Way stars to predict galaxy chemistry, and finds most elements across cosmic time can be reproduced from just [Mg/H] and [Mg/Fe]. arxiv.org/abs/2605.03000 ☄️🔭

Michelle's second paper discussed what caused Venus to have such a CO2 rich atmosphere? Was it always that way, or is Venus a dead Earth? It looks at 3 pathways to making a Venutian atmosphere, and finds all 3 could explain the levels of CO2 there today 🔭 ☄️ arxiv.org/abs/2604.25810