October 2021 – Page 2 – Astronomy Now

Return to the Deep: Five sights to get you back in the deep-sky swing

9 October 2021 Mark Armstrong

With autumn beckoning, our lengthening nights will thankfully soon be blessed again with twilight-free skies. Provided you’re observing from a site free from major light-pollution, you’ll enjoy getting reacquainted with the multitude of deep-sky delights that are on show now and throughout the autumn.

Study shows nukes a viable last resort for asteroid defence

6 October 2021 Astronomy Now

Study indicates nuclear ‘disruption’ of a threatening asteroid could provide a viable last-minute defence if too late for more-effective deflection.

BepiColombo gets first glimpse of Mercury

5 October 2021 Stephen Clark

The European-Japanese BepiColombo spacecraft swept past Mercury Friday in the first of six high-speed flybys to gradually set up the probe’s trajectory for a critical manoeuvre in 2025 to enter orbit around the Solar System’s innermost planet.