Astronomy Now – Page 36

Solar Probe finds small flares – ‘campfires’ – that may help heat the corona

16 July 2020 Astronomy Now

The first images from the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft provide spectacular close-range views of the sun.

Astronomers catch the afterglow of a short gamma ray burst

14 July 2020 Astronomy Now

Astronomers catch the faint afterglow of an extremely remote short gamma ray burst, raising new questions about stellar evolution.

The Very Large Telescope peers into the Crux of the Milky Way, revealing a sea of stars

14 July 2020 Astronomy Now

The Very Large Telescope and the FORS instrument look into the Southern Cross, revealing a sea of colourful stars scattered like gems on black velvet.

Innovative Japanese telescope spots red dwarf superflare in Leo

14 July 2020 Astronomy Now

Japanese telescope spots a dozen flares on a red dwarf star in Leo, including a powerful superflare.

Juno captures sharp view of ‘Clyde’s Spot’ on stormy Jupiter

8 July 2020 Astronomy Now

A bright spot discovered on Jupiter by an amateur astronomer is revealed as a convective storm, or eruption, in close-range images captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft.

Curiosity kicks off summer road trip up Mount Sharp

6 July 2020 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has started a summer road trip, skirting dangerous sand as it heads for its next target.

Quantum jolts measured at macro scales in gravity wave detector

6 July 2020 Astronomy Now

Researchers measure the unimaginably small jostling caused by quantum fluctuations at human scales.

Now you see it, now you don’t; a massive star disappears

2 July 2020 Astronomy Now

Astronomers ponder the fate of a massive star in a remote dwarf galaxy that disappeared without a trace.

Launch of NASA’s next Mars rover delayed to 30 July

1 July 2020 Astronomy Now

Launch of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has been delayed to 30 July at the earliest after a series of processing snags.

Most massive black hole yet discovered redefines ‘gargantuan’

1 July 2020 Astronomy Now

Astronomers find a supermassive black hole 8,000 times more massive than the one at the heart of the Milky Way.