Archive – Page 304 – Astronomy Now

Ground team receives New Horizons signal

15 July 2015 Stephen Clark

A long-awaited radio signal from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft landed on planet Earth late Tuesday, confirming the faraway space probe performed as expected during a one-shot flyby of Pluto at the solar system’s outer frontier.

Scientists wowed by new views of ‘psychedelic’ Pluto

15 July 2015 Stephen Clark

Pluto and its Texas-sized moon Charon share an alien environment on the solar system’s outer frontier, with patches of organic ices and diverse rock types illustrated in color imagery released Tuesday.

Humanity’s first ambassador to Pluto makes historic flyby

14 July 2015 Stephen Clark

A speedy space probe barreled past Pluto for a one-shot flyby Tuesday, becoming the first spacecraft to ever visit the frozen, reddish world at the solar system’s distant frontier.

Take a sneak peek at Pluto

14 July 2015 Astronomy Now

Take a look at a sneak peak of Pluto taken Monday at a range of 766,000 kilometre (476,000 miles), about 16 hours before New Horizons’ closest approach.

How big is Pluto? New Horizons settles decades-long debate

13 July 2015 Astronomy Now

The true size of Pluto has been debated since its discovery over 85 years ago. New Horizons’ mission scientists can now answer that question with certainty, confirming that Pluto is larger than all other known Solar System objects beyond the orbit of Neptune.

Galaxy with a view

13 July 2015 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope’s high-resolution Advanced Camera for Surveys captures this detailed portrait of beautiful spiral galaxy LEDA 89996 in the southern constellation of Dorado in a view that measures just four-fifths of an arcminute wide.

Clear sailing expected for Pluto flyby

13 July 2015 Stephen Clark

There is no sign of an undiscovered moon lurking around Pluto in data streaming back to Earth from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, and that is surprising to Alan Stern, the scientist in charge of the probe.

Video: Pluto scientist’s biggest surprise so far

13 July 2015 Astronomy Now

Alan Stern, principal investigator for the New Horizon mission, reveals his biggest surprise so far as the probe closes in on Pluto.

Cliffs, chasms and craters revealed in latest New Horizons images

13 July 2015 Stephen Clark

The first hints of dramatic cliffs, chasms and craters are showing up in new imagery of Pluto and its Texas-sized moon Charon as NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft prepares to bolt by the icy worlds Tuesday.

Alan Gee Telecompressor Mk II

12 July 2015 Steve Ringwood

If you own a long focal ratio Ritchey–Chrétien or Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and hanker after wider fields of view for both visual use and astrophotography, then Baader Planetarium’s new telecompressor could be just what you need. Steve Ringwood investigates.