Archive – Page 45 – Astronomy Now

Dinosaur-killing impactor likely came from outer asteroid belt

9 August 2021 Astronomy Now

Modelling suggests the impactor believed to have triggered the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs likely originated in the outer asteroid belt.

Rings around a black hole from X-ray echoes off interstellar dust

8 August 2021 Astronomy Now

An X-ray outburst from a binary black hole system creates spectacular “light echoes” as the radiation bounces off intervening dust clouds, shedding light on the hole’s activity and the nature of the smoke-like dust grains.

Engineers troubleshoot Mars rover sample collection failure

7 August 2021 Astronomy Now

Engineers are assessing an initial, unsuccessful attempt by the Perseverance Mars rover to collect its first rock sample from the floor of Jezero Crater.

Erosion in a Martian crater carves buttes and stair-like layers

4 August 2021 Astronomy Now

The powerful HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captures an intriguing view of eroded rock formations on a crater floor carved billions of years ago.

Jupiter’s high temperature traced to planet’s powerful auroras

4 August 2021 Astronomy Now

A 50-year-old mystery solved: a detailed analysis shows Jupiter’s intense auroras heat the atmosphere on a global scale.

See Saturn at its best for the year

30 July 2021 Mark Armstrong

Saturn, often described as the jewel in the Solar System’s crown, comes to opposition on the night of 1/2 August in one of the highlights of the observing year.

Reviewed: OVNI-M FOM 2600 Night-vision eyepiece

29 July 2021 Gavin Orpin

Tired of straining your eyes trying to see faint fuzzies through the eyepiece, and looking for views reminiscent of astro-images? The OVNI-M night-vision eyepiece might be just right for you.

“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.