Astronomy Now – Page 228

Can you find a shy sliver of the Moon after its starring role in the eclipse?

21 March 2015 Astronomy Now

Just a day after producing a spectacular solar eclipse over the North Atlantic and Arctic, the Moon is making a more subtle return to our evening sky just after sunset. See if you can see a sliver of the New Moon this evening.

Public invited to help name features on Pluto and its largest moon, Charon

21 March 2015 Astronomy Now

On July 14th, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft will flyby Pluto, offering the first close-up look at that small, distant world. You can help decide what names will be used on subsequent maps of the dwarf planet and its largest moon, Charon, as the SETI Institute announces the launch of its “Our Pluto” campaign.

Missing link between supernovae and planet formation found

19 March 2015 Astronomy Now

An international scientific team using NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has discovered a cloud produced by a supernova explosion 10,000 years ago that contains enough dust to make 7,000 Earths, showing that supernovae are capable of producing a substantial amount of the material from which planets can form.

Eclipse safety tips video

19 March 2015 Astronomy Now

Astronomy Now’s Greg Smye-Rumsby offers tips on how to safely view the partial solar eclipse of 20 March 2015.

Mysterious Martian dust cloud and aurora detected by NASA spacecraft

19 March 2015 Astronomy Now

Unlike the Earth, Mars lost a global protective magnetic field billions of years ago, so solar particles can directly strike the atmosphere. NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft recently detected extensive auroral activity in the Red Planet’s northern hemisphere, plus an unexplained high-altitude dust cloud.

Getting into the groove of Saturn’s rings

18 March 2015 Astronomy Now

In this image from the Cassini probe orbiting Saturn we see that there are varied structures in the planet’s rings at almost every scale imaginable.

Eclipse dos and don’ts

18 March 2015 Astronomy Now

How not to observe a solar eclipse! Do not risk permanent damage to your eyesight by using unsafe methods. Make sure the solar eclipse is not the last thing you see!

Get ready for the eclipse!

18 March 2015 Astronomy Now

This Friday a stunning partial eclipse of the Sun will take place over the British Isles, while just a few hundred miles north the Sun will plunge into totality. Eclipse chaser Nick James describes what you can expect to see, and how to image it.

Moon impact! NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter finds new craters

17 March 2015 Astronomy Now

On 17th March 2013, an object hit the Moon’s surface in Mare Imbrium and exploded in a flash of light nearly 10 times as bright as anything ever recorded before. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has found the new 19-metre-wide crater plus more than two-dozen others.

Chiron may be second minor planet to possess Saturn-like rings

17 March 2015 Astronomy Now

Five bodies in our Solar System are known to bear rings — Saturn, and to a lesser extent, rings of gas and dust also encircle Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune; then Chariklo was added this haloed group last year, one of a class of minor planets called centaurs — now the progenitor of the centaurs, Chiron, most likely has rings too.