Astronomy Now – Page 54

NASA helicopter attached to agency’s Mars 2020 rover

29 August 2019 Astronomy Now

An experimental helicopter has been attached to NASA’s Mars 2020 rover, a pathfinder that could pave the way for more advanced aircraft on future missions.

James Webb Space Telescope mirror, instruments mated with spacecraft

28 August 2019 Astronomy Now

James Webb Space Telescope’s mirrors and science instruments have been mechanically attached to the observatory’s sunshield and subsystems, a major milestone for engineers building the infrared telescope. Launch from French Guiana remains targeted for 2021.

Exoplanet found in unusually long, elliptical orbit

28 August 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers find an exoplanet three times more massive than Jupiter in an extreme elliptical orbit, another milestone for the radial velocity detection technique.

IAU approves names for newly discovered moons

26 August 2019 Astronomy Now

The IAU approves names for five newly discovered moons of Jupiter

30 years later, Voyager 2’s flyby of Neptune still thrills

22 August 2019 Astronomy Now

Three decades ago, on 25 August 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft raced past Neptune and its icy moon Triton, thrilling scientists and the public at large with spectacular images that remain unrivaled today.

Second giant planet found orbiting Beta Pictoris

22 August 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have found a second giant planet orbiting the nearby star Beta Pictoris where a solar system is in the process of forming.

NASA’s Europa Clipper approved for development

20 August 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA formally approves development of the Europa Clipper, a spacecraft intended to explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa in search of clues about a potentially habitable sub-surface ocean.

Black hole gobbles neutron star, belches gravity waves

19 August 2019 Astronomy Now

Gravity waves detected 14 August indicate the apparent destruction of a neutron star being ripped apart by a black hole, researchers say

Showing what’s to come when the Sun grows old

19 August 2019 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope provides a look into the Sun’s future, imaging a planetary nebula in Orion that shows what happens when a star burns through its nuclear fuel in old age.

A supernova that may shed light on how the first stars died

18 August 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers find an apparent pair-instability supernova, a titanic blast that may shed light on how the first stars ended their lives in a metal-poor cosmos.