Astronomy Now – Page 89

ESO’s Very Large Telescope captures brilliant celestial starscape

12 July 2018 Astronomy Now

The Very Large Telescope, using an instrument sensitive to infrared emissions, reveals a spectacular starscape in an image of a hot young suns 5,000 light years away in the constellation Vela that are lighting up the surrounding neighbourhood in spectacular fashion.

Cassini ‘hears” plasma waves connecting Saturn to Enceladus

10 July 2018 Astronomy Now

Data recorded by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft shortly before it was directed to crash into Saturn at the end of its historic mission reveal powerful plasma waves moving from Saturn to its icy moon Enceladus.

Messier spotted the first extra-galactic globular cluster in 1778

10 July 2018 Astronomy Now

Globular clusters orbiting the core of the Milky Way are favourite targets for amateur astronomers, especially those in the Messier catalogue. It turns out one of them is the first extra-galactic globular ever discovered, something Charles Messier could not have imagined.

Quasar provides clues about conditions in the early Universe

10 July 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have found a brilliant quasar harbouring a super-massive black hole some 13 billion light years away, one of the most distant ever discovered, providing a tool of sorts to study conditions in the very early Universe.

Kepler spacecraft, nearly out of fuel, suspends exoplanet search

9 July 2018 Astronomy Now

The Kepler spacecraft, nearly out of fuel, has suspended its search for exoplanets pending the downlink of stored data. Flight controllers hope to resume observations in August for as long as the dwindling propellant holds out.

Computer simulations confirm massive impact knocked Uranus off kilter

6 July 2018 Astronomy Now

Supercomputer simulations confirm a cataclysmic impact with a body at least twice the size of Earth knocked Uranus on its side during the solar system’s formation, possibly explaining the evolution of its rings and moons.

Extracting critical resources from the Moon topic of ESA workshop

5 July 2018 Astronomy Now

European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst captured this spectacular view of the moon just above Earth’s discernible atmosphere from his perch aboard the International Space Station. ESA held a workshop this week focused on extracting lunar resources.

Articles by Astronomy Now

ESO’s Very Large Telescope captures brilliant celestial starscape

Cassini ‘hears” plasma waves connecting Saturn to Enceladus

Messier spotted the first extra-galactic globular cluster in 1778

Quasar provides clues about conditions in the early Universe

Kepler spacecraft, nearly out of fuel, suspends exoplanet search

Computer simulations confirm massive impact knocked Uranus off kilter

Extracting critical resources from the Moon topic of ESA workshop

Yet another test for general relativity; yet another “A” for Einstein

Cataclysmic collision re-shaped Milky Way in distant past

NuSTAR X-ray telescope shows Eta Carinae source of cosmic rays