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News: November 2008

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New simulation gives Jupiter double-sized core

New computer simulations, conducted at the scale of individual atoms, say Jupiter has a rocky core surrounded by ice that is more than twice as large as previously thought.
   FULL STORY

Buried ice found at low latitudes on Mars

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed vast Martian glaciers of water ice buried under protective blankets of rocky debris at much lower latitudes than any ice previously identified on the Red Planet.
   FULL STORY

A localised cosmic ray influx

Research conducted at the Milagro observatory has uncovered two nearby regions in space that exhibit unusually high readings of cosmic rays.
   FULL STORY

More evidence for water reservoir at Enceladus

Scientists have found more evidence to suggest that the geyser like plumes spewing out from Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus may be sourced from a warm liquid ocean buried deep within the moon.
   FULL STORY

Milky Way’s mammoth stars resolved by Hubble

Two of our Galaxy's most massive stars have been scrutinised by the Hubble Space Telescope to reveal a third component of the system.
   FULL STORY

Nature of ‘Hanny's Voorwerp’ revealed

Radio observations of a curious feature brought to the attention of astronomers by Dutch Galaxy Zoo volunteer Hanny van Arkel have finally revealed the nature of the object that came to be known as Hanny’s Voorwerp.
   FULL STORY

Galaxy evolution: nature

or nurture?

UK astronomers working on data from two separate projects - Galaxy Zoo and the Space Telescope A901/902 Galaxy Evolution Survey (STAGES) - have both uncovered a type of galaxy that represents a missing link in galaxy evolution.
   FULL STORY

Chandrayaan-1 Moon probe a big hit

India’s first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1, has begun making science observations and successfully deployed its Moon Impact Probe at the lunar south pole.
   FULL STORY

Tom Pike interview

Dr Tom Pike talks about his involvement with the Phoenix mission and the future of Mars exploration.
   FULL STORY

First map of Mars’ aurorae

Scientists using ESA's Mars Express have produced the first crude map of aurorae on Mars.
   FULL STORY

Beta Pictoris planet finally imaged?

Inside the debris disc of Beta Pictoris lies a newly discovered object. If confirmed as a gas giant, it will be the first image of a planet that is as close to its host star as Saturn is to the Sun.
   FULL STORY

Hubble solves mystery of lone starburst galaxy

Astronomers have solved the mystery as to why a small, nearby, isolated galaxy is pumping out new stars faster than any galaxy in our local neighborhood. It turns out it is actually further away than astronomers first thought.
   FULL STORY

Mysterious source of high energy cosmic rays

The NASA-funded Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter (ATIC) balloon instrument has discovered a previously unidentified nearby source of high energy cosmic rays.
   FULL STORY

Planet found orbiting dangerously close to

red giant

A new planet found orbiting a red giant star at a distance of just 0.6 AU may shed new light on how aging stars influence nearby planets before they are consumed.
   FULL STORY

Site selection narrows for next Mars lander

Four potential landing sites on Mars have been selected as candidates for the touch-down of NASA’s next roving Mars mission, the Mars Science Laboratory.
   FULL STORY

Synchronised observations catch flares from

Sagittarius A*

Simultaneous observations made with the VLT and APEX telescopes have revealed the nature of four violent flares emanating from the centre of our Milky Way Galaxy.
   FULL STORY

1000 telescopes for schools

In an ambitious project led by the Society for Popular Astronomy (SPA), the Science Facilities and Technology Council (STFC) and the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), 1000 telescopes will be donated to secondary schools in the UK to inspire the next generation of astronomers throughout the International Year of Astronomy.
   FULL STORY

Scientists dive deeper into Mars’ watery past

An international team of scientists working with data gleaned from Mars Odyssey’s Gamma Ray Spectrometer report new evidence for the controversial idea that oceans once covered as much as one-third of ancient Mars.
   FULL STORY

XMM and Integral unveil magnetar environment

X-ray and gamma ray data from ESA's XMM-Newton and Integral orbiting observatories have been used to make the first tests of the physical processes that define magnetars, an unusual class of neutron star with immense magnetic fields.
   FULL STORY

Planet family photographed around normal star

Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope and W.M. Keck Observatory on Hawaii's Mauna Kea have obtained the first images of a multi-planet system around a normal star.
   FULL STORY

Hubble images exoplanet

Using the Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers has taken an image of a planet around the star Fomalhaut. It is the first such image of an exoplanet taken in visible wavelengths.
   FULL STORY

Richard Garriott interview

Richard Garriott, a significant figure in the video game industry, recently established himself as a self-funded space tourist, spending ten days onboard the International Space Station. We spoke to Garriott about the highs and lows of his space station experiences and his thoughts on the future of space tourism.
   FULL STORY

Mysterious new aurora

on Saturn

An infrared camera on the Cassini spacecraft has detected a unique aurora at Saturn’s north polar cap, unlike any other known in the Solar System.
   FULL STORY

Dusty shock waves generate planet ingredients

Using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have shown that shock waves around dusty young stars could be generating the raw materials needed for planet formation.
   FULL STORY

Sub-millimetre astronomy reveals glowing

stellar nurseries

By using sub-millimetre wavelength astronomy, astronomers have revealed the cold dense clouds of material that are the birth places of new stars.
   FULL STORY

Phoenix concludes Martian adventure

After more than five months on the Martian surface, NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander has said its farewells to the Earth as the decline in solar power forces the spacecraft to shut down.
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Early career planetary scientists explore Mars

Martian meteorites, surface process and the habitability of the red planet formed a key part of discussions at the UK Planetary Forum’s 6th Early Careers Planetary Scientists’ meeting held in London last week.
   FULL STORY

ESO produces deepest UV image of the Universe

A new image from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) offers the deepest ground-based ultraviolet image of the Universe ever obtained.
   FULL STORY

Fingers and loops revealed in the Crab Nebula

The Chandra X-ray Observatory has captured the first clear view of the faint boundary of the Crab Nebula’s X-ray emitting pulsar wind nebula.
   FULL STORY

Meteorites’ magnetism holds clues to planet birth

Magnetic records frozen into the cores of ancient meteorites have provided fresh insight into the planetary forming conditions at the beginning of the Solar System.
   FULL STORY

JCMT sees the dark hearts of bright galaxies

European astronomers using the James Clark Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) have gained important information on what are known as Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs), galaxies with a huge energy output but which are obscured by their massive dust and gas clouds.
   FULL STORY

 

Back to latest news

Special Report:

National Astronomy Meeting

Belfast 2008

READ MORE

Exclusive Interview:Michio Kaku

Michio Kaku is professor of theoretical physics at City College New York. He is a best-selling author and TV presenter. Two of his most recent programs were shown on BBC Four and his latest book Physics of the Impossible (Allan Lane) is on sale now. Astronomy Now's Kulvinder Singh Chadha talks to the man who dreams about the impossible. READ MORE

2009 Yearbook
This 132-page special edition features the ultimate observing guide for 2009, a review of all the biggest news stories of 2008, in depth articles covering all aspects of astronomy and space missions for 2009, previews of International Year of Astronomy events and much, much more.
 U.K. STORE
 

Take the tour!
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?"
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE


Infinity Rising
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.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Guide to the Constellations
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.
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 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Exploring Mars
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!
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE