Astronomy Now – Page 68

Curiosity takes a final selfie from Vera Rubin Ridge

30 January 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover snapped a final selfie from Vera Rubin Ridge on the slopes of Gale Crater before moving on to study nearby clay-bearing soil.

A whopping 1.6 petabytes of Pan-STARRS data now available

28 January 2019 Astronomy Now

The second edition of the Pan-STARRS digital sky survey includes 1.6 petabytes of data, the richest astronomical volume ever released.

Oldest Earth rock found on Moon? Maybe

28 January 2019 Astronomy Now

Researchers have identified a rock sample brought back from the Moon by the Apollo 14 crew in 1971 that may be the oldest Earth rock ever found

A fresh crater in the red planet’s southern ice cap

27 January 2019 Astronomy Now

A meteoroid crashed into Mars between July and September 2018, penetrating the thin southern ice cap and excavating dark sub-surface sand, a very noticeable blemish on an otherwise pristine surface.

New Horizons sends back best picture yet of Ultima Thule

25 January 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s New Horizons probe has beamed back the highest resolution view yet of Ultima Thule, the twin-lobe Kuiper Belt body it flew by on 1 January.

Opportunity rover logs 15 years on Mars

24 January 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover landed on the red planet 15 years ago 24 January; engineers are still attempting contact in the wake of a global dust storm last year.

Jet from Milky Way’s central black hole may be facing Earth

24 January 2019 Astronomy Now

High-resolution virtual views of the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole indicate one if its powerful jets could be aimed roughly in the direction of Earth.

A dying star’s brief moment of glory

22 January 2019 Astronomy Now

The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope captured a dramatic view of the colourful clouds of gas blown away from a red giant in the process of becoming a compact, slowly-cooling dwarf star.

A recent uptick in impact events on the Moon and on Earth

20 January 2019 Astronomy Now

Data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter indicate the number of impact events on the Moon nearly tripled over the past 290 million years.

Juno captures Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and a smaller rival

18 January 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Juno spacecraft continues capturing stunning view of Jupiter and its turbulent atmosphere, including this spectacular shot of the Great Red Spot and a small companion storm in the planet’s southern hemisphere.