Astronomy Now – Page 93

Mystery objects whizzing about in Milky Way’s core

8 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Spectrographic data indicates several unusual compact dusty objects are circling the supermassive black hole at the core of the Milky Way, the possible result of stellar mergers triggered by the hole’s titanic gravity.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spots recent impact crater

7 June 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted a recent impact crater that will remain a distinctive blemish for decades to come. Finding new craters is not uncommon with six satellites currently orbiting the Red Planet.

Lightning at Jupiter is just like Earth’s. Except where it’s not

6 June 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Juno spacecraft finds lightning bolts in Jupiter’s atmosphere are similar to discharges on Earth, but they only occur at high latitudes thanks to the giant planet’s distance from the sun

New Horizons wakes up for New Year’s Day flyby

5 June 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s New Horizons probe, three years outbound from Pluto, has woken from electronic hibernation, healthy and on course for a New Year’s Day flyby of an even more remote Kuiper Belt object nicknamed Ultima Thule.

‘Planet Nine’ may not be needed to explain strange orbits

5 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers are searching for a presumed “Planet Nine” in the extreme outer solar system whose gravity could explain unusual orbits of several remote bodies. New research suggests Planet Nine may not be necessary.

Small asteroid tracked to atmospheric impact and breakup

4 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Detection of a small boulder-size asteroid hurtling toward Earth 2 June served as a real-world test of the advance warning systems in place to find, track and characterise potentially threatening bodies.

‘Corduroy’ sand dunes enhance Mars’ permanent polar cap

4 June 2018 Astronomy Now

High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment – HiRISE – camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this intriguing view of “corduroy” dunes on Mars permanent polar cap, an image seemingly as much art as science.

Dawn spacecraft dropping to record low altitude at Ceres

2 June 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is in the process of dropping into its final, lowest-ever orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres, allowing it to make repeated passes within 50 kilometres (30 miles) of the surface.

Hubble gives astronomers ringside seat for galaxy merger

2 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Two colliding galaxies 100 million light years away give astronomers a ringside seat to witness bursts of star formation as vast clouds of gas and dust interact, triggering the creation of thousands of star clusters surrounding two galactic cores that are slowly merging.

Colliding neutron stars likely formed low-mass black hole

1 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Colliding neutron stars generated headlines last year after the detection of gravitational waves sweeping through the solar system. Follow-on X-ray observations indicate the cataclysmic merger formed a record low-mass black hole.