Astronomy Now – Page 242

Researchers detect possible signal from dark matter

13 December 2014 Astronomy Now

EPFL scientists have picked up an atypical photon emission in X-rays coming from space, and say it could be evidence for the existence of a particle of dark matter. If confirmed, it could open up new perspectives in cosmology.

Galactic get-together has impressive light display

12 December 2014 Astronomy Now

NGC 2207 and IC 2163 are two colliding galaxies in the constellation of Ursa Major some 130 million light-years from Earth. Between them they have produced one of the most bountiful collections of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) known.

NASA’s Curiosity rover finds clues to how water helped shape Martian landscape

9 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Observations by NASA’s Curiosity Rover indicate Mars’ Mount Sharp was built by sediments deposited in a large lake bed over tens of millions of years, challenging the notion that warm and wet conditions were transient, local, or only underground on the Red Planet.

Dunes on Saturn’s moon Titan need firm winds to move

8 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Titan is the only planetary moon known to have fields of wind-blown dunes on its surface. Experiments with the high pressure wind tunnel at Arizona State University’s Planetary Aeolian Laboratory provide key data for understanding dunes on Saturn’s largest moon.

Dawn snaps its best-yet image of dwarf planet Ceres

7 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Launched in 2007, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is preparing for its encounter with dwarf planet Ceres, imaging the body from a distance of 740,000 miles as a final calibration of the probe’s science camera. Dawn will be captured into Ceres’ orbit in March 2015.

Finding infant Earths and potential life just got easier

7 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Two researchers at New York’s Cornell University have found that on infant worlds, the habitable zone is located further away from their young parent star than previously thought. Life could arise on planets in the early phase of the coolest stars.

Pulsar with black hole could hold the ‘holy grail’ of gravity

6 December 2014 Astronomy Now

The intermittent light emitted by a pulsar allows scientists to verify Einstein’s theory of relativity, especially when paired up with another neutron star that interferes with its gravity. According to researchers from Spain and India, this theory could be analysed much more effectively if a pulsar with a black hole were found.

Green light for construction of European Extremely Large Telescope

5 December 2014 Astronomy Now

The European Southern Observatory’s Council has authorised spending of around one billion euros for the construction of the 39-metre aperture European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) on Cerro Armazones in the Chilean Atacama Desert.

Researchers suggest Martian meteorite contains organic carbon of biological origin

4 December 2014 Astronomy Now

An analysis of a Martian meteorite named Tissint, seen to fall in the Moroccan desert on 18th July 2011, revealed small fissures filled with organic carbon that is possibly biological in origin, according to an international research team.

US-UK press conference declaration calls for awareness of dangerous asteroids

2 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Experts and luminaries in science, business and entertainment will assemble at simultaneous press conferences in San Francisco & London on 3rd December to officially unveil Asteroid Day 2015, a global day of public awareness about asteroids and the threat they pose to humanity.