January 2021 – Astronomy Now

Sextuple star system fascinates with three eclipsing binaries

29 January 2021 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have found a rare sextuple star system made up of three eclipsing binaries.

Hubble captures spectacular view of a barred spiral in Sculptor

25 January 2021 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope provides a bird’s eye view of a barred spiral galaxy in the southern constellation Sculptor that could serve as a textbook example of the most common type of spiral.

The case of the missing supermassive black hole

25 January 2021 Astronomy Now

Despite careful searches with the Hubble and Chandra space telescopes, astronomers have been unable to find a presumed supermassive black hole at the heart of a giant galaxy.

Track down post-sunset Mercury

24 January 2021 Mark Armstrong

Mercury is visible this evening soon after sunset, having reached greatest elongation east (18.6 degrees) from the Sun.

Researchers spot whirlwind marking possible exoplanet in the making

21 January 2021 William Harwood

Astronomers have spotted an intriguing concentration of warm, dusty debris around a nearby star that may indicated a planet in the making.

Hubble helps astronomers wind back clock on supernova blast

19 January 2021 Astronomy Now

Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope trace a supernova’s history by measuring how fast left over debris is moving, concluding light from the blast reached Earth during the decline of the Roman Empire 1,700 years ago.

NASA InSight’s ‘Mole’ no longer digging the red planet

14 January 2021 Astronomy Now

Engineers have given up trying to coax a German “mole,” deployed by NASA’s InSight Mars lander, to hammer a heat probe into red planet’s soil.

Most distant quasar – and youngest supermassive black hole – identified

13 January 2021 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have discovered the youngest supermassive black hole to date, challenging theories about how such monsters grow.

Researchers find strong hints of background ‘sea’ of gravity waves

12 January 2021 Astronomy Now

By measuring subtle changes in the timing of millisecond pulsar flashes, researchers are close to confirming the presence of a background “sea” of gravity waves.

Review board recommends extending Juno and Insight missions

8 January 2021 Astronomy Now

An independent review board has recommended that NASA extend the Juno and InSight missions now studying Jupiter and Mars.