Astronomy Now – Page 64

Spitzer spies a stellar nursery floating in space like a cosmic butterfly

1 April 2019 Astronomy Now

Using its keen multi-wavelength infrared vision, the Spitzer Space Telescope is providing fresh insights into an Orion-class nebula and star-forming region some 1,400 light years from Earth where winds from massive young stars heat up vast butterfly-like wings.

Astronomers spot asteroid in a debris-spewing suicidal spin

1 April 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have spotted a ‘smoking gun’ example of an unstable asteroid spun up by the subtle effects of solar radiation and infrared emissions.

Mars Helicopter shows it has ‘right stuff’ for red planet

31 March 2019 Astronomy Now

A small helicopter that will be delivered by NASA’s Mars 2020 rover has successfully completed initial test flights in a simulated martian environment.

First exoplanet directly observed with optical interferometry

29 March 2019 Astronomy Now

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, a team of astronomers has made the first direct observation of an exoplanet using optical interferometry.

Hubble shoots a Wild Duck (the cluster, that is)

29 March 2019 Astronomy Now

Stars in the Wild Duck Cluster, a favourite target for amateur astronomers, sparkle like jewels on black velvet in this view from the Hubble Space Telescope, showing the remarkably rich cluster’s colourful components with crystalline clarity.

Visualizing the chaos near the Milky Way’s central black hole

24 March 2019 Astronomy Now

A 360-dergree visualization of the Milky Way’s core from the perspective of its central supermassive black hole shows the chaotic motion of nearby stars and gas clouds.

A deep infrared view of the Orion Nebula from the Very Large Telescope

24 March 2019 Astronomy Now

A deep infrared view of the Orion Nebula reveals an abundance of faint brown dwarfs and an unexpected number of planetary-mass objects, key elements in studies of star formation and the environments that produce them.

Rumors of a quasar’s death may have been premature

21 March 2019 Astronomy Now

A voracious quasar at the heart of a galaxy 1.1 billion light years away is blowing huge bubbles in space, giving the host galaxy the shape of a teacup.

Asteroid Bennu surprises with rocky surface and activity

20 March 2019 Astronomy Now

The OSIRIS-REx sample-return spacecraft is finding one surprise after another orbiting asteroid Bennu, including unexpected “ejection events.”

Ultima Thule answers – and raises – questions about early solar system

19 March 2019 Astronomy Now

Data from the New Horizons flyby of the Kuiper Belt body Ultima Thule on New Year’s Day sheds new light on processes at work during the solar system’s birth.