February 2021 – Page 2 – Astronomy Now

UAE’s Hope brakes into orbit around Mars; one down, two to go

9 February 2021 Astronomy Now

UAE’s Hope spacecraft successfully reaches Mars, setting the stage for China and NASA to follow suit.

Live coverage: United Arab Emirates to place probe into orbit around Mars today

9 February 2021 Stephen Clark

The Emirates Mars Mission, the first deep space probe from the Arab world, is set to swing into orbit around the Red Planet on Tuesday to cap a 494 million-kilometre, 205-day interplanetary voyage from Earth and begin a science mission studying the Martian climate. The critical Mars Orbit Insertion manoeuvre is scheduled to begin at 1530 GMT.

Three spacecraft home in on Mars to open new era of exploration

8 February 2021 Astronomy Now

Three’s a crowd: UAE’s Hope orbiter, China’s Tianwen 1 and NASA’s Perseverance rover reach Mars

Einstein@Home helps researchers confirm ‘black widow’ pulsar in binary system

5 February 2021 Astronomy Now

Astronomers confirm a rapidly spinning pulsar in an unusual binary system using a network of home computers in a citizen science initiative.

NASA’s Psyche mission passes key milestone on road to launch

5 February 2021 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Psyche probe passes a key milestone on the road to a trail-blazing mission to a metal-rich asteroid of the same name.

Yet another galactic spectacle, with fireworks galore, courtesy of Hubble

2 February 2021 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope captures a high-resolution view of NGC 6946, the “Fireworks Galaxy,” a face-on intermediate spiral with an extreme rate of star formation.