Archive

SOFIA detects long-sought primeval molecule

18 April 2019 Astronomy Now

Using the SOFIA airborne observatory, scientists have finally detected helium hydride, the first molecule formed in the wake of the Big Bang.

Cassini’s last look at Titan reveals more surprises

17 April 2019 Astronomy Now

During the Cassini spacecraft’s final close flyby of Saturn’s moon Titan, small-but-deep lakes of pure methane were found atop mesa-like landforms.

Mars methane mystery deepens with ExoMars data

16 April 2019 Astronomy Now

In contrast to earlier observations, the ESA-Rososmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has found a surprising absence of methane in the martian atmosphere.

TESS finds its first Earth-size planet and a sub-Neptune sibling

15 April 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s planet-hunting TESS spacecraft has found its first Earth-size planet orbiting a star 53 light years away, along with a larger sub-Neptune sibling.

With a half-million stars, Messier 3 reveals a splendid deep space tapestry

14 April 2019 Astronomy Now

Globular cluster M3 in Canes Venatici was the first object put on Charles Messier’s famous list that was discovered by the French astronomer himself. Messier could not have imagined the splendour revealed by the Hubble Space Telescope, which shows the cluster as a mind-boggling concentration of more than a half million stars some 33,000 light years from Earth.

Curiosity drills into clay unit; InSight ‘mole’ tests continue

13 April 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover has started drilling in a clay-bearing unit on the slope of Mount Sharp where rocks formed in the presence of water are expected.

Israeli probe crashes in attempt to become first privately-funded Moon lander

11 April 2019 Stephen Clark

An Israeli-built spacecraft seeking to become the first privately-developed probe to land on the Moon crashed on descent Thursday, but the mission was widely lauded as a breakthrough for the commercial space industry, and Israeli prime minster Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would try again.