April 2015 – Page 3 – Astronomy Now

Clusters of monster stars lit up the early universe

22 April 2015 Astronomy Now

The first stars were born at the end of the cosmological ‘dark ages’ several hundred million years after the Big Bang. Two Canadian researchers have calculated that clusters of these protostars may have been as luminous as 100 million Suns.

Enjoy the Lyrid meteor shower

21 April 2015 Peter Grego

With a young crescent Moon setting around midnight for the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower, prospects are good for this annual display that can produce medium-speed fireballs.

Planet-sized telescope gives a sharp view into black holes

21 April 2015 Astronomy Now

Astronomers building an Earth-sized virtual telescope capable of photographing the event horizon of the black hole at the centre of our Milky Way have extended their instrument to the South Pole.

Colourful skies over ESO

21 April 2015 Keith Cooper

A kaleidoscope of colours hang above the giant structures of the Very Large Telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. The scene is a mixture of a red sunset, the hazy zodiacal light and the pearlescent pinks of star-forming regions in our own Milky Way Galaxy.

Venus meets the Moon in the Eye of the Bull

21 April 2015 Ade Ashford

Tuesday, April 21st provides a daylight occultation of bright star Aldebaran in Taurus for observers in the extreme north of Scotland, while the whole of the British Isles sees a close conjunction with the added bonus of dazzling Venus nearby at dusk.

A cold cosmic mystery solved

20 April 2015 Astronomy Now

Since its discovery over a decade ago on a map of the cosmic background radiation left over from the Big Bang, astronomers have puzzled over the so-called Cold Spot — possibly the largest individual structure ever identified by humanity. Now, a team led by researchers from the University of Hawaii may have found an explanation for its existence.

Month: April 2015

Clusters of monster stars lit up the early universe

Enjoy the Lyrid meteor shower

Planet-sized telescope gives a sharp view into black holes

Colourful skies over ESO

Venus meets the Moon in the Eye of the Bull

A cold cosmic mystery solved

White dwarf star may have shredded passing planet

Earth was grown from millimetre-sized stones

Dawn glimpses north pole of dwarf planet Ceres

Massive galaxies died from the inside out