Archive – Page 19 – Astronomy Now

The Swan soars through the Milky Way in stunning view from La Silla Observatory

6 April 2023 Astronomy Now

Messier 17 is a familiar target for amateur astronomers, an impressive nebula in even modest telescopes. But the Swan reveals its vast extent in a spectacular shot from the European Southern Observatory’s 2.2-metre La Silla telescope.

Astronomers catch a rare glimpse of two quasars in the process of colliding

6 April 2023 Astronomy Now

Using space- and ground-based telescopes, astronomers get a rare look at two quasars in the process of merging just 3 billion years after the Big Bang.

Messier 101: Ursa Major’s spectacular Pinwheel Galaxy

6 April 2023 Mark Armstrong

Messier 101 in Ursa Major is a magnificent ‘grand design’ spiral galaxy popularly known as the Pinwheel Galaxy. Located high in the northern sky it’s an unmissable target for spring nights.

“Rain” from Saturn’s rings heats the planet’s upper atmosphere

5 April 2023 Astronomy Now

An analysis of archival data shows particles raining down from Saturn’s rings heat the planet’s upper atmosphere.

The brightest gamma ray burst ever observed defies long-standing models

4 April 2023 Astronomy Now

The “BOAT” of gamma ray bursts – the brightest of all time – raises new questions about how such powerful outbursts are generated and interact with their environments.

Dealer’s choice: Hubble spots a quasar, an AGN and a Seyfert galaxy all in one

4 April 2023 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope spots an luminous galaxy that defies simple classification, meeting the definition of an AGN (active galactic nucleus), a quasar or a Seyfert galaxy all at once.

Mercury joins Venus in the early-evening

3 April 2023 Mark Armstrong

Elusive Mercury, the nearest planet to the Sun, can now be spotted in the western sky soon after sunset, on its way to greatest eastern elongation (19°) from the Sun on 11 April.

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 .