December 2020 – Astronomy Now

Perseverance landing another “7 minutes of terror” for NASA

28 December 2020 Astronomy Now

Following in Curiosity’s footsteps, NASA’s Perseverance rover will attempt a daring high-speed descent to the surface of Mars on 21 February, depicted in an animation showing what flight controllers refer to as “seven minutes of terror.”

NASA unveils 30 “Celestial Gems” from Caldwell Catalogue to mark Hubble’s three decades in space

23 December 2020 Astronomy Now

NASA celebrates the Hubble Space Telescope’s 30th year in space by releasing newly processed images taken from the Caldwell catalogue of amateur-accessible targets not included in Messier’s list.

Most distant known galaxy surprises astronomers with heavy elements, gamma ray burst

22 December 2020 Astronomy Now

Astronomers confirm a galaxy 13.4 billion light years away is the most distant object yet found, raising new questions about how soon galaxies appeared in the wake of the Big Bang.

Historic great conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn this evening

21 December 2020 Mark Armstrong

Today Jupiter and Saturn lie closer together in the sky than at any time in almost the past 400 years, in a once-in-a-lifetime event that’s been termed the ‘Great conjunction’.

Scientists thrilled with asteroid treasure returned by Japanese spacecraft

16 December 2020 Stephen Clark

Japanese space agency officials said they found a “large number” of pitch black rock and dust particles after opening a capsule returned to Earth earlier this month by the Hayabusa 2 mission, giving eager scientists their first significant specimens ever brought back from an asteroid.

The giant planets Jupiter and Saturn come together in the sky

15 December 2020 Mark Armstrong

The countdown is on for the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. The two giant planets of the Solar System will lie a mere six arcminutes apart on 21 December.

Hubble spies double-star exoplanet in long orbit like hypothetical path of ‘Planet Nine’

14 December 2020 Astronomy Now

Hubble helps astronomers characterise exoplanet orbit that is similar to the path of a hypothesised “Planet Nine” in Earth’s solar system.

Don’t miss a shooting-star spectacular from the Geminids

13 December 2020 Mark Armstrong

The Geminid meteor shower peaks Sunday night (13 December), providing a great opportunity to witness the best meteor shower of the year.

Dust devil sweeps across Mars near Mount Sharp

12 December 2020 Astronomy Now

Watch a dust devil sweep across the Martian surface in this video shot in August by NASA’s Curiosity rover.

Inouye Solar Telescope captures spectacular first sunspot image

7 December 2020 Astronomy Now

A spectacular image of a sunspot released by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, the world’s largest, shows a wealth of detail with a resolution 2.5 times higher than previously achieved.