X-Highlight – Page 20 – Astronomy Now

Rippling sand dunes across the floor of a crater at zero longitude on Mars

24 January 2022 Astronomy Now

Rippling sand dunes across the floor of a martian crater provide an intriguing backdrop for map makers using the depression to identify zero longitude on the red planet.

A 150-million-year-old look at a spectacular spiral

17 January 2022 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope is adept at spotting supernova blasts in remote galaxies, helping astronomers pin down the cosmic distance scale. Galaxy NGC 976 it a typically spectacular example of a Hubble target.

The Flame Nebula shines in mesmerising SuperCam image of Orion

5 January 2022 Astronomy Now

The Flame Nebula in Orion, photobombed by the Horsehead Nebula, blazes in a newly processed image captured by the SuperCam instrument at the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment.

Star birth and death in the Large Magellanic Cloud

28 September 2021 Astronomy Now

ESO’s Very Large Telescope captures NGC 2035 in the Large Magellanic Cloud where hot young stars are forming in a stellar nursery shaped like a dragon’s head. At the other extreme: the remnants of a supernova blast.

The mesmerizing outskirts of NGC 4603 – a key galaxy in Hubble’s ‘key project’

30 August 2021 Astronomy Now

The spiral arms of galaxy NGC 4603 are home to multiple Cepheid variable stars, “standard candles” that helped astronomers pin down the age of the universe in one of the Hubble Space Telescope’s first major projects.

A flawless spiral galaxy in Aries an oasis of light in a spiralling sea of stars

20 August 2021 Astronomy Now

A tilted spiral galaxy, showing off beautifully symmetric arms tightly wrapped around a brilliant core, provides a spectacular target for the Hubble Space Telescope.

A stunning vista from the Curiosity Mars rover captures changing environment

20 August 2021 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Curiosity rover beams back a stunning panorama from the slopes of Mount Sharp showing signs of transition between past and present environments.

Dominant Jupiter comes to opposition

17 August 2021 Mark Armstrong

Mighty Jupiter, the king of the planets and the most observer-friendly planet of all, comes to opposition on the night of 19/20 August (Thursday night/Friday morning).

Dinosaur-killing impactor likely came from outer asteroid belt

9 August 2021 Astronomy Now

Modelling suggests the impactor believed to have triggered the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs likely originated in the outer asteroid belt.

Reviewed: OVNI-M FOM 2600 Night-vision eyepiece

29 July 2021 Gavin Orpin

Tired of straining your eyes trying to see faint fuzzies through the eyepiece, and looking for views reminiscent of astro-images? The OVNI-M night-vision eyepiece might be just right for you.