April 2020 – Astronomy Now

Hubble captures dramatic images of comet flying apart

29 April 2020 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope captures dramatic images of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) breaking apart into as many as 30 house-size chunks.

NASA narrows design for rocket to launch samples off of Mars

29 April 2020 Stephen Clark

After years of studies, test-firings and a survey of U.S. industry in preparation for launch of a Mars Sample Return mission in 2026, NASA has settled on a solid-fueled design for a miniature rocket with a first-of-its-kind purpose: Launching a payload from Mars for a trip back to Earth.

Detailed Moon map provides high-resolution ‘blueprint’ for lunar geology

28 April 2020 Astronomy Now

A new Moon map provides an updated, remarkably detailed view of lunar surface geology, merging Apollo-era data with more recent observations and resolving inconsistencies in earlier maps.

Hubble marks 30th anniversary with spectacular peek into the Large Magellanic Cloud

24 April 2020 Astronomy Now

NASA and the European Space Agency marked the Hubble Space Telescope’s 30th anniversary with a colourful look at a vast star-forming region inside the Large Magellanic Cloud

Hubble at 30: A cosmic legacy

24 April 2020 Keith Cooper

Amid flame and smoke, the Hubble Space Telescope blasted off the launch pad aboard the space shuttle Discovery 30 years ago today, ushering in a new era for astronomy that has transformed our understanding of the Universe around us.

Patrick Moore reports on the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope

24 April 2020 Astronomy Now

In the June 1990 issue of Astronomy Now, Patrick Moore reported on the launch of the space shuttle Discovery which carried into orbit the long-awaited Hubble Space Telescope.

Now you see it, now you don’t: The case of the vanishing exoplanet

21 April 2020 Astronomy Now

A presumed exoplanet orbiting the star Fomalhaut now appears to have been a dissipating cloud of debris in the aftermath of a collision between two asteroids.

Beginners’ astronomy: how to see the Lyrid meteor shower

20 April 2020 Keith Cooper

If you’ve never seen a meteor shower, then with no work or school for many people in the morning thanks to the continuing COVID-19 lockdown, the Lyrids are a great opportunity to stay up late and witness nature’s own fireworks.

How do you give ESO’s Very Large Telescope an eye exam? Very, very carefully.

19 April 2020 William Harwood

Cleaning the four 8.2-metre mirrors used by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope complex requires high technology and great care to keep the optical systems free of contamination or any other defects.

Earth-size habitable-zone planet found in archived Kepler data

19 April 2020 Astronomy Now

Researchers taking a second look at archived Kepler data find a mislabled Earth-size exoplanet in a red dwarf’s habitable zone.