Astronomy Now – Page 92

New experiment to probe dark matter interactions

17 June 2018 Astronomy Now

A new experiment is proposed to measure dark matter interactions with normal matter, using ultra-precise observations of a binary pulsar to search for signs of a possible “fifth force” acting across the cosmos.

Astronomers ‘see’ aftermath of black hole lunching on doomed star

15 June 2018 Astronomy Now

For the first time, astronomers have directly witnessed the aftermath of a black hole consuming a nearby star, imaging the formation and expansion of a high-speed jet of material ejected in the maelstrom.

Blowing bubbles – Wolf-Rayet stars put on dramatic show

15 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Energetic Wolf-Rayet stars near the end of their lives produce fast-moving stellar winds that can interact with the surrounding interstellar medium to generate spectacular bubbles in space. They rarely emit X-rays, but ESA’s XMM-Newton space telescope caught one in the act.

Three planets found around dust-shrouded star

14 June 2018 Astronomy Now

By measuring the motion of carbon monoxide molecules in a protoplanetary disc, two teams of astronomers have found three planets lurking in the rings of dust around a star just a few million years old.

NASA managers hopeful Opportunity will survive its trial by dust

13 June 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA managers are optimistic the agency’s Opportunity Mars rover will survive a huge dust storm that is preventing sunlight from recharging the robot’s solar arrays, knocking it out of contact with Earth.

Ageing Mars rover halts research, powers down in heavy dust storm

12 June 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover is powered down. science operations on hold, in a bid to weather a huge dust storm that is blocking the sunlight needed to re-charge the robot’s batteries and keep it from freezing.

A meteoroid impact on Mars triggers a dusty avalanche

12 June 2018 Astronomy Now

A bang and a whoosh – how researchers describe the recent impact of a small meteoroid on the side of a martian hill and a long avalanche of dark, dry dust that stretches more than a kilometre (0.6 mile) down the slope.

Diamond dust may be source of unusual emissions

11 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have detected microwave emissions from three protoplanetary disks that apparently are generated by vast clouds of tiny, spinning nanodiamonds, tiny motes of carbon found in star-forming regions

A jewel box of brilliant suns, M79 delights the eye

9 June 2018 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope captures a striking view of the globular cluster M79, a vast assembly of some 150,000 stars in the constellation Lepus that includes, like all clusters of its type, some of the oldest suns in the Milky Way.

Curiosity rover finds more evidence of Martian habitability

8 June 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has detected a wide range of organic compounds on the red planet along with signs of seasonal variations in background methane levels, a possible indicator of biological activity.