Archive – Page 44 – Astronomy Now

“Mountains” on neutron stars just fractions of a millimetre tall

28 July 2021 Astronomy Now

Computer modelling suggests neutron stars are gravitationally compressed into near-perfect spheres.

Perseverance surveys the magnificent desolation of Jezero Crater

27 July 2021 Astronomy Now

The Perseverance Mars rover’s cameras capture the stark, desert-like beauty of Jezero Crater where a now-vanished lake once sparkled and where traces of ancient microbial life may preserved in lakebed sediments.

InSight finds frigid Mars has molten core

27 July 2021 Astronomy Now

An ultra-sensitive seismometer aboard NASA’s InSight Mars lander finds a huge molten core at the heart of the red planet.

In a first, ALMA spies huge moon-forming disc around exoplanet

24 July 2021 Astronomy Now

ALMA confirms the presence of a possible moon-forming disc of dusty debris around a Jupiter-size exoplanet 400 light years from Earth.

Perseverance Mars rover poised to collect first rock samples

23 July 2021 Astronomy Now

Five months after landing in Jezero Crater, the Perseverance Mars rover is finally ready to begin collecting samples for eventual return to Earth.

Whew! Hubble Space Telescope back in operation

17 July 2021 Astronomy Now

After a month of complex troubleshooting, engineers have successfully restored the Hubble Space Telescope to normal operations.

A frequently rediscovered globular cluster in Scorpius catches Hubble’s eye

13 July 2021 Astronomy Now

The origin of the globular clusters observed in most galaxies remains a mystery, but the vast star swarms provide some of the most stunning sights in the heavens for professional and amateur astronomers alike.

Astronomers spot two stars locked in supernova death spiral

13 July 2021 Astronomy Now

Astronomers spot a teardrop-shaped star indicating the distorting presence of a white dwarf as the two spiral toward a supernova blast.

Mars and Venus cosy up close

10 July 2021 Mark Armstrong

Soon after sunset on Monday (12 July) there’s an opportunity to see a close encounter between Venus and Mars with a crescent Moon nearby.

Hubble captures a colourful cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud

3 July 2021 Astronomy Now

As engineers work to resolve a computer glitch aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, its images, like this one of NGC 330, are a reminder of the spectacular views the observatory has provided for the past three decades.