Astronomy Now – Page 20

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.

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.

Smallest, most massive white dwarf on verge of collapse to neutron star

2 July 2021 Astronomy Now

Astronomers find smallest, most massive white dwarf, possibly on threshold to evolve into a neutron star.

Gravity waves show black hole-neutron star mergers

30 June 2021 Astronomy Now

Gravitational wave detectors confirm two instances of black holes consuming neutron stars in cataclysmic mergers.

Supermassive black hole triggers blazing ring of star formation around galactic core

24 June 2021 Astronomy Now

A supermassive black hole at the heart of galaxy NGC 1097 powers a brilliant nuclear ring of run-away star formation as imaged by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope.