March 2023 – Astronomy Now

Supermassive black holes not impressive enough? Try the ultramassive version

29 March 2023 Astronomy Now

Gravitational lensing helps astronomers find one of the most massive black holes yet discovered, a 30-billion solar mass monster at the heart of a remote galaxy.

James Webb’s infrared vision lets astronomers take an exoplanet’s temperature

28 March 2023 Astronomy Now

The James Webb Space Telescope takes a rocky exoplanet’s temperature, giving astronomers a powerful new tool for studying alien worlds.

Messier 65 and 66: Leo’s magical galaxy pairing

27 March 2023 Mark Armstrong

The early-spring spiral galaxy pairing of Messier 65 and Messier 66 is one of the most sought after in the entire sky .

NASA gearing up for OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample recovery

27 March 2023 Astronomy Now

Procedures are being refined to ensure the safe recovery of samples from asteroid Bennu when they are returned to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on 24 September.

Hubble captures a ‘jellyfish’ swimming through a remote galactic cluster

26 March 2023 Astronomy Now

Facing headwinds on a galactic scale creates jellyfish-like tendrils that represent star formation in extreme conditions.

A simpler, more mundane explanation for ‘Oumuamua’s strange behaviour

23 March 2023 Astronomy Now

The unusual acceleration of the interstellar body ‘Oumuamua most likely was caused by the outgassing of trapped hydrogen gas, researchers say.

A sea of blazing stars in a galactic spiral of gas, dust and starbirth

23 March 2023 Astronomy Now

M83, known as the Southern Pinwheel, is a majestic barred spiral some 15 million light years away, one of the closest examples of its kind to Earth’s Milky Way.

Japanese Hakuto-R moon lander slips into lunar orbit

22 March 2023 Astronomy Now

The first privately-developed lunar lander – Hakuto-R – successfully braked into orbit around the moon after a three-month voyage; landing on tap in April.

Analysis of Magellan data shows apparent volcanic activity on Venus

21 March 2023 Astronomy Now

Data captured by NASA’s Magellan Venus probe in 1991 shows what appears to be lava flows from an active vent on the side of a huge volcano known as Maat Mons.

JWST captures rare glimpse of Wolf-Rayet star on the way to death by supernova

21 March 2023 Astronomy Now

James Webb captures a detailed infrared image of a Wolf Rayet star as its outer atmosphere is blown off in a brief transition before an eventual supernova explosion.