Archive – Page 56 – Astronomy Now

NASA approves preliminary design of SPHEREx space telescope

5 January 2021 Astronomy Now

NASA presses ahead with SPHEREx space telescope to search for evidence of inflation, to chart galactic history and map organic compounds.

Caught on the hook

5 January 2021 Astronomy Now

A curving arm of the spiral galaxy NGC 2442 trails into extragalactic space in this glorious image from the Hubble Space Telescope.

A Cosmic EGG

4 January 2021 Astronomy Now

This image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, depicts a special class of star-forming nursery known as Free-floating Evaporating Gaseous Globules.

Perseverance landing another “7 minutes of terror” for NASA

28 December 2020 Astronomy Now

Following in Curiosity’s footsteps, NASA’s Perseverance rover will attempt a daring high-speed descent to the surface of Mars on 21 February, depicted in an animation showing what flight controllers refer to as “seven minutes of terror.”

NASA unveils 30 “Celestial Gems” from Caldwell Catalogue to mark Hubble’s three decades in space

23 December 2020 Astronomy Now

NASA celebrates the Hubble Space Telescope’s 30th year in space by releasing newly processed images taken from the Caldwell catalogue of amateur-accessible targets not included in Messier’s list.

Most distant known galaxy surprises astronomers with heavy elements, gamma ray burst

22 December 2020 Astronomy Now

Astronomers confirm a galaxy 13.4 billion light years away is the most distant object yet found, raising new questions about how soon galaxies appeared in the wake of the Big Bang.

Historic great conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn this evening

21 December 2020 Mark Armstrong

Today Jupiter and Saturn lie closer together in the sky than at any time in almost the past 400 years, in a once-in-a-lifetime event that’s been termed the ‘Great conjunction’.

Scientists thrilled with asteroid treasure returned by Japanese spacecraft

16 December 2020 Stephen Clark

Japanese space agency officials said they found a “large number” of pitch black rock and dust particles after opening a capsule returned to Earth earlier this month by the Hayabusa 2 mission, giving eager scientists their first significant specimens ever brought back from an asteroid.

The giant planets Jupiter and Saturn come together in the sky

15 December 2020 Mark Armstrong

The countdown is on for the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. The two giant planets of the Solar System will lie a mere six arcminutes apart on 21 December.

Hubble spies double-star exoplanet in long orbit like hypothetical path of ‘Planet Nine’

14 December 2020 Astronomy Now

Hubble helps astronomers characterise exoplanet orbit that is similar to the path of a hypothesised “Planet Nine” in Earth’s solar system.