Astronomy Now – Page 85

InSight lander now halfway to Mars, on track for November landing

20 August 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s InSight spacecraft has passed the halfway point to Mars and remains on track for a 26 November landing in the Elysium Planitia region where it will become the first probe to study the red planet’s deep interior.

Putting a young exoplanet on the scales for the first time

20 August 2018 Astronomy Now

Using data from ESA’s Gaia and Hipparcos satellites, astronomers have managed to deduce the mass of a giant exoplanet orbiting Beta Pictoris by studying subtle changes in the star’s motion over a quarter of a century.

Nothing special about ingredients making up our Solar System

19 August 2018 Astronomy Now

Analysis of more than two dozen relatively nearby solar systems shows the elements that went into their construction are broadly similar to what is found in Earth’s solar family, increasing confidence that Earth-like exoplanets may be common.

NASA stands by for Mars Opportunity wake up as dust storm abates

18 August 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA has not heard from the Opportunity Mars rover since it fell silent 10 June as a global dust storm blanketed the red planet, but engineers are hopeful the long-lived robot will wake up soon as the storm abates.

Molecules ripped apart in giant close-orbiting exoplanet

17 August 2018 Astronomy Now

Computer simulations and spectroscopic analysis show molecular bonds in the atmosphere of a Jupiter-class exoplanet orbiting so close to its star that temperatures reach some 4,000 degrees Celsius (7,200 F) are ripped asunder.

Hundreds of galaxies hidden in quasar’s 46-billion-sun glare

17 August 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers discover a huge cluster of galaxies ‘hidden in plain sight’ in the glare of a quasar and its voracious central black hole, raising the possibility the universe contains more mass than previously suspected

One Hubble picture is worth 15,000 words (make that galaxies)

17 August 2018 Astronomy Now

Famous for its “deep field” views of the cosmos, the Hubble Space Telescope has produced another stunning image combining ultraviolet, visible and infrared light, capturing 15,000 galaxies in various stages of evolutionary development in a single frame .

Articles by Astronomy Now

InSight lander now halfway to Mars, on track for November landing

Putting a young exoplanet on the scales for the first time

Nothing special about ingredients making up our Solar System

NASA stands by for Mars Opportunity wake up as dust storm abates

Molecules ripped apart in giant close-orbiting exoplanet

Hundreds of galaxies hidden in quasar’s 46-billion-sun glare

One Hubble picture is worth 15,000 words (make that galaxies)

A family portrait of the Very Large Telescope facility in Chile

Excavation begins for Giant Magellan Telescope observatory

Protons may play outsized role in neutron star behaviour