December 2014 – Page 2 – Astronomy Now

The Milky Way’s new neighbour

22 December 2014 Astronomy Now

The Local Group of galaxies has just grown in number with the Hubble Space Telescope discovery of KKs 3 — a dwarf spheroidal some 7 million light-years away in the far southern constellation of Hydrus.

Did Earth receive its water from comets, or geologically from within?

21 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Was the Earth dry and inhospitable to life until icy comets pelted the planet and deposited water on the surface? Two researchers at Ohio State University believe that Earth was formed with water in its interior and propose a mechanism for bringing it to the surface.

Is that a moon behind you?

21 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Tethys appears to be peeking out from behind Rhea in this image from the Cassini probe. Scientists believe that Tethys’ surprisingly high albedo is due to the water ice jets emerging from its neighbour, Enceladus.

Philae’s first landing: it’s all a blur

20 December 2014 Astronomy Now

The European Space Agency’s Philae lander captured this blurred view during its first bounce after first contacting the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November.

Europe’s Venus Express mission is at its end

19 December 2014 Stephen Clark

The European Space Agency’s Venus Express spacecraft has run out of fuel and will burn up in the atmosphere of Venus in January after a successful eight-year mission.

NASA’s Kepler spacecraft proves it can still find planets

19 December 2014 Astronomy Now

When the primary mission of NASA’s Kepler spacecraft ended in May 2013 due to a failure of its stabilisation system, a team of scientists and engineers developed an ingenious strategy to control the spacecraft. The resulting second mission, K2, has a newfound planet — HIP 116454b

Month: December 2014

The Milky Way’s new neighbour

Did Earth receive its water from comets, or geologically from within?

Is that a moon behind you?

Philae’s first landing: it’s all a blur

Europe’s Venus Express mission is at its end

NASA’s Kepler spacecraft proves it can still find planets

Mars rover detects methane spike, organic molecules

Utilities for telescopes and DSLR cameras

The hot blue stars of Messier 47

Carnegie hosts Mercury crater-naming contest