Keith Cooper – Page 5 – Astronomy Now

Comet claim for mysterious Wow signal sparks controversy

11 June 2017 Keith Cooper

A controversial claim that the famous ‘Wow!’ signal was produced by comets and not extraterrestrial intelligence has been met with scepticism by radio astronomers and comet experts, sparking a fresh debate about the nature of this mysterious signal.

The Galaxy’s strangest star dims again

24 May 2017 Keith Cooper

A sudden dimming in brightness of Tabby’s Star, famed for its large and puzzling fades, has triggered a frenzy of observations as astronomers hurry to try to get to the bottom of what is rapidly become one of the biggest mysteries in astronomy.

Nearby star is home to seven possibly-habitable planets

22 February 2017 Keith Cooper

Seven Earth-sized planets have been discovered orbiting a single ultra-cool dwarf star 40 light years away. Depending on atmospheric conditions, all seven could potentially be habitable, making the system a prime target for scientists hunting for another Earth.

Did a failed solar panel block Beagle 2’s antenna?

11 November 2016 Keith Cooper

The British Beagle 2 lander likely failed when a solar panel failed to deploy properly, blocking its radio frequency antenna, new 3D modelling and comparison with images of Beagle 2 on the ground have revealed.

A billion stars: Gaia’s first map of the Milky Way

15 September 2016 Keith Cooper

Gaia, the space probe that has been mapping a billion stars in the Galaxy following its launch by the European Space Agency (ESA) in December 2013, has revealed its first revolutionary data.

Potentially-habitable planet discovered around nearest star Proxima Centauri

24 August 2016 Keith Cooper

A planet with at least 1.3 times the mass of Earth has been discovered orbiting within the habitable zone of the nearest star to our Sun, Proxima Centauri, which is just 4.2 light years away.

Kepler finds Tabby’s Star is mysteriously dimming

8 August 2016 Keith Cooper

The so-called ‘most mysterious star in the galaxy’, also known as KIC 8462852, Tabby’s Star, the WTF (‘where’s the flux’) star and the ‘alien megastructure star’, has become even stranger according to new analysis of old observations from Kepler.

Dawn sees Ceres’ salty spot

24 March 2016 Keith Cooper

The Dawn spacecraft has finally been able to get a good look at the famous bright spot on the surface of Ceres, with NASA releasing new images at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas.

Gravitational waves found emanating from merging black holes

11 February 2016 Keith Cooper

Gravitational waves have been detected for the first time, rippling away from the merger of two mighty black holes 1.3 billion light years away in a distant galaxy.

Compelling evidence for a ninth planet in the Solar System

20 January 2016 Keith Cooper

There’s strong new evidence that an undiscovered large planet exists on the fringes of our Solar System, according to two Caltech scientists who have looked at the odd behaviour of numerous distant Kuiper Belt Objects.