Astronomy Now – Page 10

“Rain” from Saturn’s rings heats the planet’s upper atmosphere

5 April 2023 Astronomy Now

An analysis of archival data shows particles raining down from Saturn’s rings heat the planet’s upper atmosphere.

The brightest gamma ray burst ever observed defies long-standing models

4 April 2023 Astronomy Now

The “BOAT” of gamma ray bursts – the brightest of all time – raises new questions about how such powerful outbursts are generated and interact with their environments.

Dealer’s choice: Hubble spots a quasar, an AGN and a Seyfert galaxy all in one

4 April 2023 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope spots an luminous galaxy that defies simple classification, meeting the definition of an AGN (active galactic nucleus), a quasar or a Seyfert galaxy all at once.

Supermassive black holes not impressive enough? Try the ultramassive version

29 March 2023 Astronomy Now

Gravitational lensing helps astronomers find one of the most massive black holes yet discovered, a 30-billion solar mass monster at the heart of a remote galaxy.

James Webb’s infrared vision lets astronomers take an exoplanet’s temperature

28 March 2023 Astronomy Now

The James Webb Space Telescope takes a rocky exoplanet’s temperature, giving astronomers a powerful new tool for studying alien worlds.

NASA gearing up for OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample recovery

27 March 2023 Astronomy Now

Procedures are being refined to ensure the safe recovery of samples from asteroid Bennu when they are returned to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on 24 September.

Hubble captures a ‘jellyfish’ swimming through a remote galactic cluster

26 March 2023 Astronomy Now

Facing headwinds on a galactic scale creates jellyfish-like tendrils that represent star formation in extreme conditions.

A simpler, more mundane explanation for ‘Oumuamua’s strange behaviour

23 March 2023 Astronomy Now

The unusual acceleration of the interstellar body ‘Oumuamua most likely was caused by the outgassing of trapped hydrogen gas, researchers say.

A sea of blazing stars in a galactic spiral of gas, dust and starbirth

23 March 2023 Astronomy Now

M83, known as the Southern Pinwheel, is a majestic barred spiral some 15 million light years away, one of the closest examples of its kind to Earth’s Milky Way.

Japanese Hakuto-R moon lander slips into lunar orbit

22 March 2023 Astronomy Now

The first privately-developed lunar lander – Hakuto-R – successfully braked into orbit around the moon after a three-month voyage; landing on tap in April.