2015 – Page 56 – Astronomy Now

A perfect ring

29 April 2015 Keith Cooper

This incredible halo-shaped object is an Einstein Ring, which is an extreme manifestation of Albert Einstein’s General Relativity in action.

Astrophysicists create 3-D master map of the universe

29 April 2015 Astronomy Now

Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada have created a spherical 3-D map of the universe spanning nearly two billion light-years that is the most complete picture of our cosmic neighbourhood to date.

Orion SkyQuest XX12g Dobsonian

28 April 2015 Steve Ringwood

If you fancy drinking up views of the universe from a light-bucket, Orion’s SkyQuest XX12g GOTO Dobsonian will leave you drunk on celestial wonders, writes Steve Ringwood.

New Stars for Old: Stories from the History of Astronomy

28 April 2015 Astronomy Now

Mark Read intersperses historical fact with dramatic fiction in a series of 20 reinterpreted stories about key figures in the history of astronomy, from Aristotle to Newton.

IAU contest enables public to name 47 exoplanets and stars

28 April 2015 Astronomy Now

The NameExoWorlds contest, organised by the International Astronomical Union and Zooniverse, is now entering its next stage. Fifteen stars and 32 planets have been made available for naming proposals from registered clubs and non-profit organisations.

U. S. Naval Observatory releases 228 million-star catalogue

27 April 2015 Astronomy Now

The United States Naval Observatory’s Robotic Astrometric Telescope (URAT) near Flagstaff, Arizona began to systematically image the sky every clear night for a period of just over two years, culminating in the URAT1 catalogue of precise positional data on about 228 million stars.

The First Quarter Moon meets Jupiter in the evening sky

25 April 2015 Ade Ashford

The First Quarter Moon passes close by Jupiter, the Solar System’s largest planet, on the nights of April 25th and 26th. Jupiter may be two months past opposition, but it still offers much to see in a telescope.

Astronomers find runaway galaxies

25 April 2015 Astronomy Now

Researchers mining data from Virtual Observatory archives found 11 previously unknown compact elliptical galaxies that were isolated from from any galaxy cluster, flung out of their homes at speeds up to 6 million miles per hour to wander the void of intergalactic space.

Celestial Messengers – Cosmic Rays

24 April 2015 Astronomy Now

Mario Bertolotti’s book on cosmic rays can also be read as the scientific process in action, a story that goes hand-in-hand with research into particle physics.

Deep-Sky Companions: Southern Gems

24 April 2015 Astronomy Now

Well-known astronomer and writer Stephen James O’Meara has taken James Dunlop’s 19th century opus as the basis for his survey of 120 southern sky objects for the modern astronomer.