June 2019 – Page 3 – Astronomy Now

A dark vortex swirling in a Jovian jet stream

7 June 2019 Astronomy Now

The gift that keeps on giving, NASA’s Juno spacecraft is re-writing the textbooks about the inner workings of Jupiter, beaming back stunning photos along the way.

Polarisation study finds no new evidence for cosmic “anomalies”

7 June 2019 Astronomy Now

A new study based on polarisation data from ESA’s Planck spacecraft finds no new evidence for large-scale “anomalies” in the Cosmic Microwave Background.

Don’t miss Jupiter’s ‘unravelling’ Great Red Spot

6 June 2019 Ade Ashford

The Great Red Spot (GRS) is the solar system’s largest known storm, an Earth-sized anticyclone that has raged in the atmosphere of Jupiter for at least two centuries. But recent observations from Earth and space suggest that this iconic Jovian feature is undergoing huge changes that could herald its demise.

See Mercury and Mars get close at dusk on 18 June

5 June 2019 Ade Ashford

On 18 June at the end of civil twilight in the UK, planets Mars and Mercury lie slightly less than one-quarter of a degree apart in the constellation of Gemini. Observing this conjunction will be a challenge from the UK as the pair will be just 5 degrees high in the west-northwest at civil dusk in bright twilight, which is about 50 minutes after sunset for London.

Double asteroid tracked by VLT in planetary defence test

4 June 2019 Astronomy Now

ESO’s Very Large Telescope successfully tracked and imaged a fast-moving double asteroid in a key test of ongoing planetary defence efforts.

NASA funds commercial moon landers for science, exploration

2 June 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA funds three fast-track lunar landers to help kick start private-sector lunar exploration and pave the way for astronaut landings starting in 2024.

NASA to shut down Spitzer Space Telescope early next year

1 June 2019 Stephen Clark

After a search for an outside funding source turned up empty, NASA plans to end observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope in January to conclude a 16-year mission that discovered exoplanets, studied galaxies in the ancient universe, and peered at planets and asteroids in our own Solar System.