Archive – Page 57 – Astronomy Now

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.

Don’t miss a shooting-star spectacular from the Geminids

13 December 2020 Mark Armstrong

The Geminid meteor shower peaks Sunday night (13 December), providing a great opportunity to witness the best meteor shower of the year.

Dust devil sweeps across Mars near Mount Sharp

12 December 2020 Astronomy Now

Watch a dust devil sweep across the Martian surface in this video shot in August by NASA’s Curiosity rover.

Inouye Solar Telescope captures spectacular first sunspot image

7 December 2020 Astronomy Now

A spectacular image of a sunspot released by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, the world’s largest, shows a wealth of detail with a resolution 2.5 times higher than previously achieved.

Dramatic video shows catastrophic collapse of Arecibo instrument platform

3 December 2020 Astronomy Now

U.S. National Science Foundation releases dramatic video showing dramatic collapse of Arecibo Observatory’s 900-ton instrument platform onto the radio telescope’s huge dish antenna.

An expanding bubble of ionised gas gives rise to star birth

30 November 2020 Astronomy Now

Passing shockwaves from expanding clouds of ionised gas trigger the collapse of interstellar gas and dust clouds, forming stellar nurseries.

SOFIA opens a surprising window on quasars and galactic evolution

30 November 2020 Astronomy Now

Researchers using the airborne SOFIA infrared observatory have found a quasar where star formation has managed to continue despite a torrent of radiation.

Mars rover data indicates ancient megafloods across Gale Crater

24 November 2020 Astronomy Now

Stratigraphy in Gale Crater on Mars indicates the effects of megafloods in the distant past, most likely caused by the heat released in a major impact.

Hubble Space Telescope tracks the rise and fall of a brilliant supernova

24 November 2020 Astronomy Now

Across a gulf of 70 million light years, the brilliant flare of an exploding star shines like a beacon in the outer reaches of a spiral galaxy, providing tell-tale clues about the expansion rate of the universe.