News

Philae’s descent to comet 67P

Recently released images compiled into a movie show the descent of the European Space Agency’s Philae lander to its first touchdown site, Agilkia, on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko on 12 November 2014. The image sequence starts just over two miles from the comet, and the final image is from just 9 metres above the landing site.

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“Solar Prominence” by Gary Palmer

Nomination number five from the prestigious Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, an annual celebration of the most beautiful and spectacular visions of the cosmos by astrophotographers worldwide. Now in its seventh year, the 2015 competition received 2700 spectacular entries from over 60 countries and the winners will be announced 17 September.

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“Thor’s Helmet” by Adam Block

Our fourth nomination from the prestigious Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, an annual celebration of the most beautiful and spectacular visions of the cosmos by astrophotographers worldwide. Now in its seventh year, the 2015 competition received 2700 spectacular entries from over 60 countries and the winners will be announced 17 September.

Observing

See the International Space Station from the UK

Next to the Moon and Venus, the International Space Station (ISS) can be the third brightest object in the nighttime sky. During the first ten days of August, the ISS is well placed for viewing before midnight for observers in the British Isles. We show you how, when and where to see it.

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“Aurora Panorama 3” by Jan R. Olsen

Our third nomination from the prestigious Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, an annual celebration of the most beautiful and spectacular visions of the cosmos by astrophotographers worldwide. Now in its seventh year, the 2015 competition received 2700 spectacular entries from over 60 countries and the winners will be announced 17 September.

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New Hubble view of the Lagoon Nebula

This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8) an object with a deceptively tranquil name. The region is filled with intense winds from hot stars, churning funnels of gas, and energetic star formation, all embedded within an intricate haze of gas and pitch-dark dust.

News

“Failed stars” host powerful auroral displays

Brown dwarfs are relatively cool, dim objects that are too massive to be planets, yet they are too small to sustain hydrogen fusion reactions. By observing a brown dwarf 20 light-years away, researchers have found another feature that makes these so-called failed stars more like supersized planets — they host powerful aurorae near their magnetic poles.