Archive – Page 203 – Astronomy Now

Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year: What makes the perfect astrophoto?

14 September 2016 Astronomy Now

In this video, the judges of the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition explain what makes the perfect astrophoto. The winning image will be revealed at an awards ceremony on 15 September.

See the Moon hide planet Neptune on 15 September

14 September 2016 Ade Ashford

Observers up for an extreme observing challenge may care to make an attempt at viewing the almost full Moon pass in front of planet Neptune soon after 8pm BST on Thursday, 15 September. The planet’s disappearance occurs at a low altitude in twilight for the British Isles, but can also be seen from a large swathe of Europe and western Russia.

Aurora Bird by Jan R Olsen

14 September 2016 Astronomy Now

The vivid green Northern Lights resemble a bird soaring over open water in Olderdalen, Norway. This image, by Jan R Olsen of Norway, is one of those shortlisted in this year’s Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

Astronomers shed light on different galaxy types

14 September 2016 Astronomy Now

Australian scientists have taken a critical step towards understanding why different types of galaxies exist throughout the universe. The research means that astronomers can now classify galaxies according to their physical properties rather than human interpretation of a galaxy’s appearance.

South by Phil Hart

13 September 2016 Astronomy Now

The Southern Cross constellation of the Milky Way, visible in the southern sky creates a guiding light along Bucklands Lane in Central Goldfields Shire, Victoria, Australia.

Astronomers observe star reborn in a flash within the Stingray Nebula

13 September 2016 Astronomy Now

An international team of astronomers has been able to study stellar evolution in real time. Over a period of 30 years, dramatic increases in the temperature of the star SAO 244567 have been observed. Now the star is cooling again, having been reborn into an earlier phase of stellar evolution.

Barely bisected rings

13 September 2016 Astronomy Now

Saturn’s shadow stretched beyond the edge of its rings for many years after the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini spacecraft first arrived at Saturn, casting an ever-lengthening shadow that reached its maximum extent at the planet’s 2009 equinox. This image captured the moment in 2015 when the shrinking shadow just barely reached across the entire main ring system.

Discovery nearly doubles known quasars from the ancient universe

12 September 2016 Astronomy Now

Quasars are supermassive black holes that sit at the centre of enormous galaxies, accreting matter. They shine so brightly that they are among the most distant objects in the universe that we can currently study. New work from a team led by Carnegie’s Eduardo Bañados has discovered 63 new quasars from when the universe was just 7 percent of its present age.

Monster lurks at the core of a lenticular galaxy

12 September 2016 Astronomy Now

This scene captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows PGC 83677, a lenticular galaxy — a galaxy type that sits between the more familiar elliptical and spiral varieties in the Hubble sequence. Studies have uncovered signs of a monstrous black hole in the core of PGC 83677 that is spewing out high-energy X-rays and ultraviolet light.

Alone by Lee Cook

10 September 2016 Astronomy Now

With temperatures close to –15 degrees, it’s not surprising that the photographer was the only soul in the vicinity of Plateau Hut in Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand. This image is one of those shortlisted in the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.