August 2018 – Page 4 – Astronomy Now

Most distant radio galaxy, host to a voracious black hole, is found

7 August 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have detected the most distant known radio galaxy, a surprising discovery given the supermassive black hole powering the galaxy was actively accreting gas and dust when the Universe was in its infancy.

Sharing an unforgettable moment: The Milky Way over Spain

6 August 2018 Astronomy Now

A dramatic view of the Milky Way sparkling above the Tre Crime Dolomites in Spain. The image is shortlisted in this year’s Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition organised by the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Brown dwarf or massive exoplanet detected with powerful magnetic field

4 August 2018 Astronomy Now

The Very Large Array radio telescope has made the first detection of a planetary-mass body with a magnetic field 200 times more powerful than Jupiter’s. But it’s not yet clear whether it’s a brown dwarf or a massive exoplanet.

Crescent-shaped nebula in Carina harbours energetic Wolf-Rayet star

3 August 2018 Astronomy Now

The European Southern Observatory’s VLT Survey Telescope captures a stunning view of a crescent-shaped nebula 12,000 light years away in the southern constellation Carina where the outflow from a hot Wolf-Rayet star helps shape the lopsided structure.

Astronomers stunned again by Eta Carinae – the star that will not die

3 August 2018 Astronomy Now

Eta Carinae, one of the brightest, most massive stars in the Milky Way, famously erupted 170 years ago, producing huge clouds of expanding debris. Astronomers studying light echoes from the blast may have found an explanation.

Don’t miss 2018’s favourable Perseid meteor shower, 12–13 August

3 August 2018 Ade Ashford

From the UK evening of Sunday, 12 August into the early hours of the following morning it’s the maximum of the annual Perseid meteor shower. This year, a new Moon setting in twilight makes prospects for watching this natural firework display particularly good. So, find somewhere away from the streetlights, settle into a garden lounger facing northeast and enjoy the show!

Successful occultation observations for New Horizons (updated 4 August)

2 August 2018 Astronomy Now

Mission planners preparing for the New Horizons flyby of a Kuiper Belt object on 1 January will attempt to monitor starlight as it is blocked out by the probe’s target, Ultima Thule, to update critical navigation data. Updated 4 August

Cassini image captures five of Saturn’s moons in one frame

1 August 2018 Astronomy Now

In 2011, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured a view showing five of Saturn’s moons – Janus, tiny Pandora, the water world Enceladus, Mimas and Rhea, the planet’s second largest moon – in a single frame, a family portrait that is riveting in its stark beauty.

Astronomers detect radioactive molecules in debris from stellar collision

1 August 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers studying the remnants of a collision between two stars have made the first direct detection of radioactive material outside Earth’s solar system, debris that was blasted into space from one star’s deep interior