October 2017 – Page 2 – Astronomy Now

Cassini results still keeping scientists busy

19 October 2017 Stephen Clark

Scientists examining data from the Cassini mission’s final months reported this week unexpected measurements of Saturn’s gravity field and outer atmosphere, suggesting they may have to revisit theories about the planet’s rings and the forces that generate magnetic fields.

Examining Mars’ moon Phobos in a different light

17 October 2017 Astronomy Now

NASA’s longest-lived mission to Mars has gained its first look at the Martian moon Phobos, pursuing a deeper understanding by examining it in infrared wavelengths.

See the old crescent Moon meet Venus at dawn on 18 October

17 October 2017 Ade Ashford

Observers in the British Isles and Western Europe should look low to the east about an hour before sunrise on Wednesday, 18 October to see the slim crescent of a very old Moon close to the brightest planet, Venus. Mars is also nearby for the keen-eyed among you, but don’t leave it too late or the growing twilight will drown out the Red Planet.

Gravitational waves from colliding neutron stars usher in new era of astronomy

16 October 2017 Keith Cooper

For the first time, gravitational waves have been detected coming from the violent collision of two neutron star potentially solving the mystery of where heavy elements like gold come from as well as producing a visible afterglow detected by over 70 telescopes around the world.

Hubble’s compact galaxy with big-time star formation

16 October 2017 Astronomy Now

As far as galaxies are concerned, size can be deceptive. Some of the largest galaxies in the Universe are dormant, while some dwarf galaxies, such as ESO 553-46 imaged here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, can produce stars at a hair-raising rate.

First light detected from violent neutron star collision

16 October 2017 Astronomy Now

For the first time, scientists have detected light tied to a gravitational-wave event, thanks to two merging neutron stars in the galaxy NGC 4993, located about 130 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Hydra.

Intense storms batter Saturn’s largest moon, scientists report

14 October 2017 Astronomy Now

Titan, the largest of Saturn’s more than 60 moons, has surprisingly intense rainstorms, according to research by a team of UCLA planetary scientists and geologists. Although the storms are relatively rare — they occur less than once per Titan year, which is 29 and a half Earth years — they occur much more frequently than the scientists expected.

VLBA measurement promises complete picture of the Milky Way

12 October 2017 Astronomy Now

Astronomers using the National Science Foundation’s Very Long Baseline Array have directly measured the distance to a star-forming region on the opposite side of our Milky Way Galaxy from the Sun. Their achievement nearly doubles the previous record for distance measurement within our galaxy.

Ring discovered around Haumea, an egg-shaped dwarf planet beyond Neptune

12 October 2017 Astronomy Now

New observations of the dwarf planet Haumea, an elongated object orbiting beyond Neptune, have revealed the presence of an icy ring.

Asteroid-bound probe returns Earth-Moon family portrait

12 October 2017 Stephen Clark

Ten days after a swingby to receive a gravitational boost toward its asteroid target, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft turned one of its cameras back toward Earth, resolving its bluish home planet hanging in the void of space accompanied by the Moon.