Archive – Page 33 – Astronomy Now

Observe the Moon occulting Porrima, Virgo’s celebrated second star.

11 May 2022 Mark Armstrong

On the morning of 13 May (12/13), the Moon occults Porrima (gamma Virginis), Virgo’s celebrated binary star, in an event that’s visible across the UK.

Webb optical alignment complete and virtually perfect

9 May 2022 Astronomy Now

NASA says the James Webb Space Telescope’s optical system is now in virtually perfect alignment, setting the stage for instrument commissioning and science operations later this summer.

The Sky Imaging Edition Part 1: TPoint modelling

6 May 2022 Astronomy Now

Software Bisque’s latest edition of The Sky software isn’t just a digital planetarium, but makes for an excellent assistant for imagers, allowing computer control of all facets of the imaging process.

Juno captures spectacular view of Ganymede’s shadow on Jupiter’s cloud tops

2 May 2022 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Juno probe captures a stunning image of Ganymede’s shadow moving across Jupiter’s cloud tops, providing a unique perspective on an event familiar to amateur astronomers.

Ingenuity zooms over Mars rover’s discarded parachute and backshell

2 May 2022 Astronomy Now

The Ingenuity Mars helicopter captures intriguing images of the Perseverance rover’s discarded parachute and backshell.

RVO Horizon 72mm ED: The future of refractors is on the Horizon

29 April 2022 Steve Ringwood

Steve Ringwood checks out a new offering from Rother Valley Optics that raises the bar for compact refractors.

Catch a bright supernova in Virgo

27 April 2022 Mark Armstrong

Supernova 2022hrs was discovered by amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki on April 16.619 (14:50h UT) in NGC 4647, an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation of Virgo.

Watch Venus and Jupiter as they converge for this weekend’s great conjunction

27 April 2022 Mark Armstrong

Venus and Jupiter now lie close together in the pre-dawn eastern sky, providing a marvellous albeit lowly sight just before sunrise.

Phobos transits the Sun, captured by Mars Rover

27 April 2022 Mark Armstrong

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover’s Mastcam-Z camera has captured Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two small moons (27 x 22 x 18 kilometres), as it transited the Sun’s disc on 2 April

Don’t miss Mercury, now at its evening’s best for the year

24 April 2022 Mark Armstrong

Mercury is now visible soon after sunset in the west-north-western sky.