Aims. We study a thermonuclear supernova (SN), emphasizing very late phases.Methods. An extensive dataset for SN 2003hv that covers the flux evolution from maximum light to day +786 is presented. This includes 82 epochs of optical imaging, 24 epochs of near-infrared (NIR) imaging, and 10 epochs of optical spectroscopy. These data are combined with published nebular-phase IR spectra, and the observations are compared to model light curves and synthetic nebular spectra. Results. SN 2003hv is a normal Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) with photometric and spectroscopic properties consistent with its rarely observed B-band decline-rate parameter, Δm 15 (B) = 1.61 ± 0.02. The blueshift of the most isolated [Fe ii] lines in the nebular-phase optical spectrum appears consistent with those observed in the IR at similar epochs. At late times there is a prevalent color evolution from the optical toward the NIR bands. We present the latest-ever detection of a SN Ia in the NIR in Hubble Space Telescope images. The study of the ultraviolet/optical/infrared (UVOIR) light curve reveals that a substantial fraction of the flux is "missing" at late times. Between 300 and 700 days past maximum brightness, the UVOIR light curve declines linearly following the decay of radioactive 56 Co, assuming full and instantaneous positron trapping. At 700 days we detect a possible slowdown of the decline in optical-bands, mainly in the V-band. Conclusions. The data are incompatible with a dramatic infrared catastrophe (IRC). However, the idea that an IRC occurred in the densest regions before 350 days can explain the missing flux from the UVOIR wavelengths and the flat-topped profiles in the NIR. We argue that such a scenario is possible if the ejecta are clumpy. The observations suggest that positrons are most likely trapped in the ejecta.

Until now, rings have been detected in the Solar System exclusively around the four giant planets. Here we report the discovery of the first minor-body ring system around the Centaur object (10199) Chariklo, a body with equivalent radius 124$\pm$9 km. A multi-chord stellar occultation revealed the presence of two dense rings around Chariklo, with widths of about 7 km and 3 km, optical depths 0.4 and 0.06, and orbital radii 391 and 405 km, respectively. The present orientation of the ring is consistent with an edge-on geometry in 2008, thus providing a simple explanation for the dimming of Chariklo's system between 1997 and 2008, and for the gradual disappearance of ice and other absorption features in its spectrum over the same period. This implies that the rings are partially composed of water ice. These rings may be the remnants of a debris disk, which were possibly confined by embedded kilometre-sized satellites

We report the first unambiguous detection and mass measurement of an isolated stellar-mass black hole (BH). We used the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to carry out precise astrometry of the source star of the long-duration (t E ≃ 270 days), high-magnification microlensing event MOA-2011-BLG-191/OGLE-2011-BLG-0462 (hereafter designated as MOA-11-191/OGLE-11-462), in the direction of the Galactic bulge. HST imaging, conducted at eight epochs over an interval of 6 yr, reveals a clear relativistic astrometric deflection of the background star’s apparent position. Ground-based photometry of MOA-11-191/OGLE-11-462 shows a parallactic signature of the effect of Earth’s motion on the microlensing light curve. Combining the HST astrometry with the ground-based light curve and the derived parallax, we obtain a lens mass of 7.1 ± 1.3 M ⊙ and a distance of 1.58 ± 0.18 kpc. We show that the lens emits no detectable light, which, along with having a mass higher than is possible for a white dwarf or neutron star, confirms its BH nature. Our analysis also provides an absolute proper motion for the BH. The proper motion is offset from the mean motion of Galactic disk stars at similar distances by an amount corresponding to a transverse space velocity of ∼45 km s−1, suggesting that the BH received a “natal kick” from its supernova explosion. Previous mass determinations for stellar-mass BHs have come from radial velocity measurements of Galactic X-ray binaries and from gravitational radiation emitted by merging BHs in binary systems in external galaxies. Our mass measurement is the first for an isolated stellar-mass BH using any technique.

Aims. We report the discovery of a planet with a high planet-to-star mass ratio in the microlensing event MOA-2009-BLG-387, which exhibited pronounced deviations over a 12-day interval, one of the longest for any planetary event. The host is an M dwarf, with a mass in the range 0.07 M < M host < 0.49 M at 90% confidence. The planet-star mass ratio q = 0.0132 ± 0.003 has been measured extremely well, so at the best-estimated host mass, the planet mass is m p = 2.6 Jupiter masses for the median host mass, M = 0.19 M . Methods. The host mass is determined from two "higher order" microlensing parameters. One of these, the angular Einstein radius θ E = 0.31 ± 0.03 mas has been accurately measured, but the other (the microlens parallax π E , which is due to the Earth's orbital motion) is highly degenerate with the orbital motion of the planet. We statistically resolve the degeneracy between Earth and planet orbital effects by imposing priors from a Galactic model that specifies the positions and velocities of lenses and sources and a Kepler model of orbits. Results. The 90% confidence intervals for the distance, semi-major axis, and period of the planet are 3.5 kpc < D L < 7.9 kpc, 1.1 AU < a < 2.7 AU, and 3.8 yr < P < 7.6 yr, respectively.

The published version of this article presented high-precision observations of the transiting extrasolar planetary system WASP-18, which is of particular interest because accurate transit timings over a number of years may provide empirical constraints on the tidal quality factor of the host stars of gas giant planets. We have since discovered that the times recorded in the FITS headers of our observations were offset from the true values. This information was used to generate the timestamps in the photometric observations presented and analyzed in the published article, which are therefore also offset by an unknown amount.The problem has been traced back to a software "bug" (or "feature") which meant that the computer clock used in the generation of the FITS headers was only synchronized to an atomic clock when the computer was booted. WASP-18 was observed at the end of the season, when the computer had been running continuously for several months, and so was strongly affected by this problem. The timestamps in the light curve of WASP-18 are uniformly shifted to roughly 85 s later than the true values, calculated by comparison to the orbital ephemeris given by Hellier et al. (2009). A more precise value of the shift will be calculable in the future when an improved orbital ephemeris becomes available.The measured physical properties of the WASP-18 system in the published article are not affected by this problem, as they depend only on the relative values of the timestamps. However, the orbital ephemeris is significantly affected and should not be used in future analyses. For the purposes of planning further observations, we recommend that the orbital ephemeris given by Hellier et al. (2009) should be used.