News: June 2010
Titan atmosphere experiment reveals clues to life's origins
University of Arizona scientists have performed laboratory experiments that show how atmospheric nitrogen can be incorporated into organic molecules, an important step in determining models for the formation of life on nitrogen rich bodies such as Earth and Titan.  READ MORE
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First directly imaged
planet confirmed
First reported in 2008, an exoplanet system discovered orbiting a Sun-like star via direct imaging has been confirmed to host an eight Jupiter-mass planet orbiting its star over 300 times farther than Earth is from our Sun. READ MORE
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Mysterious rock formations discovered on the red planet
The Mars Express mission, led by the European Space Agency, has discovered a windblown plateau and strange rocky mounds near to the Magellan crater on Mars. READ MORE
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Making good time
with pulsars
Decade-long observations of pulsars using the Lovell radio at Jodrell Bank could help astronomers track down long sought-after gravitational waves. READ MORE
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Radio observations shed light on Hanny's Voorwerp
New high resolution radio observations from the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (EVN) and the UK’s Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) have probed the famed green cloud of gas known as 'Hanny's Voorwerp'. READ MORE
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Galaxy collision
fires up quasar
Using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile and the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) on La Palma, a team of astronomers have found evidence for a high luminosity quasar powered by the collision of two galaxies. READ MORE
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Study suggests water was a global occurrence on Mars
Two probes circling the Red Planet have discovered evidence that water was once present in the northern hemisphere of Mars, a sign the planet's entire surface may have been habitable billions of years ago. READ MORE
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Superstorm rages
on exoplanet
High-precision observations have allowed astronomers to make the first measurements of a storm raging on an exoplanet, as well as compute the planet's orbital speed and mass. READ MORE
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New insight into
Milky Way formation
Research by a team of astronomers led by Professor Dr. Pavel Kroupa of the Argelander Institute for Astronomy at Bonn University has led to important breakthroughs in the exploration of the earliest evolutionary history of our Galaxy. READ MORE
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Hubble's bubbles
and baby stars
A new Hubble Space Telescope image delving into the N11 region of the Large Magellanic Cloud reveals bright bubbles of glowing gas and a region of frenetic star birth. READ MORE
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Astronomy Now's guide
to solar observing
If you're thinking about taking up solar observing be sure to consult our fantastic video guides, in which Astronomy Now's equipment expert Nick Howes introduces you to the different types of solar telescope and explains how to safely align your telescope with the Sun, capture images of our star and process them to produce stunning images. WATCH
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Cassini makes dramatic dive in the name of science
The Cassini spacecraft pulled off its latest drama-packed performance Sunday night, braving to skim deeper into the outer atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon than it had ever attempted before in hopes of discovering a magnetic field around Titan. READ MORE
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Pan-STARRS begins search for killer asteroids
The first Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System telescope, Pan-STARRS 1, is now fully operational, tracking the sky for "killer" asteroids and comets. READ MORE
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Preview the July issue of Astronomy Now!
Editor Keith Cooper talks about the latest issue of Astronomy Now to hit the shops. WATCH
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Meteor to blame
for Jupiter flash
An impact on Jupiter that was captured on camera by amateur astronomers Anthony Wesley and Christopher Go was apparently nothing more than a giant meteor, according to the latest Hubble Space Telescope observations of the gas giant. READ MORE
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The origin of the solar wind
Professor Richard Harrison of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories talks to Astronomy Now about the origin of the solar wind, and how the latest solar mission, the Solar Dynamics Observatory, will teach us more about solar storms that threaten Earth. WATCH
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Say goodbye to dark matter and energy?
The idea of a Universe dominated by dark energy and dark matter has been thrown into jeopardy by a reassessment of observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. READ MORE
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Exoplanet on the move
Astronomers have tracked, for the first time, an exoplanet orbiting around its host star.
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Something strange is happening on Titan
New findings on Saturn’s hydrocarbon-shrouded moon Titan reveal anomalies that although are likely explained by chemical processes, still leave the room open for the possibility of life. READ MORE
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Comets formed in other
solar systems
Many well-known comets such as Halley, Hale-Bopp and McNaught, may have been born around other stars, says an international team of researchers.
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Hayabusa on course for Australia landing zone
Five days before it will fall into the Australian outback, Japan's returning Hayabusa asteroid mission finished targeting the landing site Tuesday in a final planned ion engine burn.
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Geological map points to ancient seas on Mars
A geological map, created using data from a plethora of orbiting spacecraft, presents new evidence that lakes persisted early in Mars' history.
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Space found for
Earth-like planets
Analysis of all 79 star systems known to have transiting exoplanets has revealed that only two could definitely not support life as we know it, according to astronomers at the Open University whose work will appear in an upcoming edition of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. READ MORE
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SETI: The frugal alien's beacon
August, 15, 1977: a pulse of radio waves at 1,420MHz radiates down from space to be received by the Big Ear radio telescope in Ohio for 72 seconds. Then: nothing. Sporadic searches of the area since have failed to find this interstellar radio chorus. It’s origins remain a mystery.
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Jupiter in the firing line, again!
Amateur astronomers Anthony Wesley and Christopher Go last night independently captured on camera an object slamming into the gas giant Jupiter.
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Rare rocks identified on Mars
Analysis of data collected by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in 2005 has confirmed the discovery of carbonates in an outcrop at the base of the Columbia Hills with Gusev Crater.
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Details in the structure of a distant quasar revealed
Using the German and Netherlands LOFAR telescope stations, astronomers have for the first time produced a high resolution image of a distant quasar at metre radio wavelengths.
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Signs of unrest in massive star cluster
By comparing two Hubble images taken ten years apart, astronomers have measured the tiny motions of hundreds of young stars in a massive star cluster, finding that they move in quite an unexpected way.
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Computers catching humans in galaxy classifications
An artificial neural net that mimics the network of neurons in the human brain has proven itself 90 percent as accurate as users of Galaxy Zoo when it comes to classifying galaxies, according to new research from scientists at the University of Cambridge and University College London. READ MORE
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Our latest 132-page Astronomy Now special edition is an extravaganza of astronomy for the year ahead, with a complete 30-page guide to observing the planets, moon, meteor showers, two solar eclipses, and the deep sky in 2010.
A 100-page special edition from the creators of Astronomy Now magazine, The Grand Tour of the Universe takes readers from one end of the Universe to the other and, in doing so, asks the question "just how big is the Universe?"
This special publication features the photography of British astro-imager Nik Szymanek and covers a range of photographic methods from basic to advanced. Beautiful pictures of the night sky can be obtained with a simple camera and tripod before tackling more difficult projects, such as guided astrophotography through the telescope and CCD imaging.
Astronomy Now presents
this 100-page, full-colour guide to the 68 constellations visible from the British
Isles by Neil Bone, the respected amateur astronomer and writer.
Astronomy Now is pleased to announce the publication of Exploring Mars. The very best images of Mars taken by orbiting spacecraft and NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers fill up the 98 glossy pages of this special edition!