Abstract I present a Gaia DR3 kinematic membership analysis of the young open cluster IC 2395, identifying 81 candidate members within a 1° search radius using proper motion, parallax, astrometric quality, and photometric cuts. An isochrone fit confirms a cluster age of ∼9 Myr, a distance of ∼750 pc and an extinction A V = 0.6 mag. Of the 81 candidates, 15 have measurements of Gaia DR3 radial velocity; of these, 8 are kinematically consistent with the cluster, producing a systemic velocity of +19.5 ± 5.1 km s −1 .

Abstract The inflated transiting super-Neptune WASP-107b is believed to be generating measurable internal heat, possibly by tidal dissipation of energy in a slightly eccentric orbit. Small orbital eccentricities can be difficult to measure using radial velocity data alone. Fortunately, the orbital phase of the secondary eclipse is very sensitive to eccentricity. Wu et al. recently claimed a possible secondary eclipse using JWST NIRSpec archival data. We here demonstrate that photometry from four Spitzer eclipses confirms Wu et al.’s eclipse phase, and we measure e cos ( ω ) = 0.0143 ± 0.0014 . This establishes a lower limit to the orbital eccentricity, and we also measure the eclipse depth and day side brightness temperature in the sum of Spitzer’s 3.6 and 4.5 μ m bands. We obtain T b = 820 ± 26 K, consistent within the errors with the temperature at the evening limb inferred from JWST transit spectroscopy.

Abstract JWST imagery of the approaching Kreutz sungrazer C/2026 A1 (MAPS) appears sufficient to distinguish the comet’s nucleus from the surrounding dust. Coma model fitting indicates the morphology is compatible with a ∼0.4 km diameter nucleus—likely larger than those of the minor Kreutz fragments routinely discovered with coronagraphs, and comparable to or slightly smaller than that of C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy). However, since C/2026 A1 is the only Kreutz sungrazer whose nucleus has been directly observed, these comparisons should be treated with caution.

Abstract The special conditions of illumination in the outermost portions of the Orion Nebula have allowed the identification in visual light of two spherical clouds that may become local centers of star formation. Multiple emission line and continuum images reveal these objects through scattering by their dust particle components. These objects fall outside the present surveys of the Orion Nebula in [C ii ] and CO and merit dedicated follow-up infrared and radio studies.