Astronomy Now – Page 63 – Astronomy Now

21 January 2026

Latest News

TESS finds its first Earth-size planet and a sub-Neptune sibling

15 April 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s planet-hunting TESS spacecraft has found its first Earth-size planet orbiting a star 53 light years away, along with a larger sub-Neptune sibling.

With a half-million stars, Messier 3 reveals a splendid deep space tapestry

14 April 2019 Astronomy Now

Globular cluster M3 in Canes Venatici was the first object put on Charles Messier’s famous list that was discovered by the French astronomer himself. Messier could not have imagined the splendour revealed by the Hubble Space Telescope, which shows the cluster as a mind-boggling concentration of more than a half million stars some 33,000 light years from Earth.

Curiosity drills into clay unit; InSight ‘mole’ tests continue

13 April 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover has started drilling in a clay-bearing unit on the slope of Mount Sharp where rocks formed in the presence of water are expected.

‘Virtual’ telescope captures first direct image of black hole

10 April 2019 Astronomy Now

For the first time, astronomers have captured a direct view of the environment just outside the event horizon of a supermassive black hole.

BepiColombo ready for long cruise to Mercury

10 April 2019 Astronomy Now

The European Space Agency’s ambitious BebiCololmbo probe has completed commissioning and is now clear for the long voyage to Mercury

New view of the Moon, courtesy of Israeli lander

5 April 2019 Astronomy Now

The Israeli Beresheet lander, while braking into orbit around the Moon 4 April, beamed back stunning views of lunar farside, giving a hint of what to expect after landing 11 April.

Dust-choked doughnut detected around gargantuan black hole

5 April 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have made the first direct observation of a dust-choked torus surrounding a supermassive black hole powering an active galactic nucleus.

Israeli lunar lander slips into orbit around the moon

4 April 2019 Astronomy Now

Israel’s Beresheet lunar lander carried out a critical rocket firing 4 April to brake into orbit around the moon, setting the stage for landing 11 April.

Parker Solar Probe makes second close pass by Sun

4 April 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is making its second close flyby of the Sun this week, passing within a scant 24 million km (15 million miles) of Earth’s star.

Upgrades to gravity wave detectors promise more discoveries

3 April 2019 Astronomy Now

After major upgrades to improve sensitivity, the LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave observatories are set to begin a year of joint observations.

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