December 2014 – Page 3 – Astronomy Now

Swarms of Pluto-size objects kick up dust around adolescent Sun-like star

14 December 2014 Astronomy Now

ALMA observations of the dusty protoplanetary disc surrounding a star known as HD 107146 provides evidence for an entire family of orbiting Pluto-size objects, a solar system in transition from early life to maturity where planets have finished forming.

Researchers detect possible signal from dark matter

13 December 2014 Astronomy Now

EPFL scientists have picked up an atypical photon emission in X-rays coming from space, and say it could be evidence for the existence of a particle of dark matter. If confirmed, it could open up new perspectives in cosmology.

Galactic get-together has impressive light display

12 December 2014 Astronomy Now

NGC 2207 and IC 2163 are two colliding galaxies in the constellation of Ursa Major some 130 million light-years from Earth. Between them they have produced one of the most bountiful collections of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) known.

Geminid meteor shower reaches its peak

11 December 2014 Mark Armstrong

With the Moon past Last Quarter and rising after midnight, prospects are good for observing the closing stages of the Geminid meteor shower — now the richest shooting stars display of the year.

New Horizons awake for Pluto encounter

11 December 2014 Stephen Clark

Speeding through the outer solar system after a nine-year trek from Earth, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is awake and preparing for an encounter next summer with Pluto.

NASA’s Curiosity rover finds clues to how water helped shape Martian landscape

9 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Observations by NASA’s Curiosity Rover indicate Mars’ Mount Sharp was built by sediments deposited in a large lake bed over tens of millions of years, challenging the notion that warm and wet conditions were transient, local, or only underground on the Red Planet.

Dunes on Saturn’s moon Titan need firm winds to move

8 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Titan is the only planetary moon known to have fields of wind-blown dunes on its surface. Experiments with the high pressure wind tunnel at Arizona State University’s Planetary Aeolian Laboratory provide key data for understanding dunes on Saturn’s largest moon.

Double the fun as magnitude-3.6 star λ Geminorum is hidden by the Moon

8 December 2014 Ade Ashford

The last lunar occultation of a conspicuous naked-eye star for UK observers in 2014 occurs around 6 am on Tuesday, 9th December. Set your alarm and prepare your telescope for the disappearance and reapparance of λ Geminorum.

New interactive website tools for observers

8 December 2014 Ade Ashford

Astronomy Now Online brings you a powerful interactive global Almanac and UK-based all-sky star maps — the first of a new suite of tools to help plan your observing sessions and travel.

Dawn snaps its best-yet image of dwarf planet Ceres

7 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Launched in 2007, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is preparing for its encounter with dwarf planet Ceres, imaging the body from a distance of 740,000 miles as a final calibration of the probe’s science camera. Dawn will be captured into Ceres’ orbit in March 2015.