Archive – Page 147 – Astronomy Now

New Juno findings amaze scientists studying Jupiter

7 March 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has found Jupiter’s cloud belts and zones extend down some 3,000 kilometres and contain about 1 percent of the planet’s mass. Below that, the world seems to rotate as a nearly rigid body.

Saturn’s ‘Great Northern Storm’ still an awesome sight to behold

6 March 2018 William Harwood

For reasons not yet understood, Saturn seems to store energy in its atmosphere over decades before suddenly releasing it in massive lightning storms that affect the ringed planet’s atmosphere across enormous distances. The Great Northern Storm of 2010/11 circled Saturn like a snake eating its tail, persisting for months before dissipating.

Huge debris ring holds clues to planet formation around young star

6 March 2018 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a vast 150-billion-mile-wide ring of debris around a young star that likely holds clues about how a variety of environmental factors affect planet formation.

Supermassive black holes growing faster than expected

4 March 2018 Astronomy Now

Supermassive black holes lurking in the hearts of countless galaxies are growing faster than astronomers suspected based on earlier studies.

See bright near-Earth asteroid 2017 VR12 pass close to star Spica, 7–8 March

4 March 2018 Ade Ashford

Possibly as large as The Shard in London, Apollo asteroid 2017 VR12 passes just 3¾ lunar distances from Earth at 7:53am GMT on 7 March. For a few nights, this magnitude +12 space rock is a viable target for small backyard telescopes as it gallops through Coma Berenices and Virgo, passing just 0.8 degrees from Spica on the UK night of 7–8 March.

See the Moon join a dawn planetary parade from 7–11 March

1 March 2018 Ade Ashford

Three naked-eye planets – Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – grow in prominence in the dawn sky this month. If you wish to identify them for yourself, let the waning Moon be your celestial guide from 7–11 March. We also show you what to look for in binoculars and telescopes.

A very, very bad day for Earth’s nearest exoplanet neighbour

27 February 2018 Astronomy Now

Proxima b, the nearest exoplanet to Earth, was blasted by a tremendous solar flare last March, an outburst that bathed the world in 4,000 times the amount of radiation Earth receives from a major flare.

Hubble data indicate universe growing faster than expected

23 February 2018 William Harwood

Time-consuming observations by the Hubble Space Telescope indicate the universe is expanding faster today than predicted by standard models of the big bang that incorporate dark energy.

Amateur astronomer makes once-in-lifetime discovery

23 February 2018 Astronomy Now

Testing a new camera, an amateur astronomer in Argentina captured the initial outburst of light from a supernova some 85 million light years away, a chance discovery that amounts to winning a cosmic lottery.

Aging but still active Mars rover enjoys its 5,000th sunrise

19 February 2018 Astronomy Now

Launched to Mars with a design life of just three months, NASA’s hard Opportunity rover, which landed on the red planet in 2004, recently marked its 5,000th sunrise. The hardy robot is currently exploring a shallow channel in the rim of Endeavour Crater.