News – Astronomy Now

23 October 2020

Live coverage: OSIRIS-REx descending toward asteroid Bennu for sampling run

20 October 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has begun its descent toward a touch and go landing on asteroid Bennu at 11:12 p.m. BST (2212 GMT) Tuesday. The craft will attempt to collect samples from the asteroid’s gravely surface for return to Earth in 2023 for scientists to search for clues about the origins and evolution of the Solar System.

Red supergiant Betelgeuse not so bright, not so giant, not so far away

16 October 2020 Astronomy Now

The red supergiant Betelgeuse, a prime supernova candidate in the not-too-distant future, may not be quite as large and far away as previously thought.

Supermassive black hole ‘spaghettifies’ doomed star in tidal disruption event

12 October 2020 Astronomy Now

Catching a tidal disruption event early allowed astronomers to follow along as a supermassive black hole devoured a passing star.

Nobel Prize in physics honours black hole theory and observation

6 October 2020 Astronomy Now

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics honours Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez for the theory and observation of black holes

Stunning new view of the Carina Nebula shows power of adaptive optics

5 October 2020 Astronomy Now

An infrared adaptive optics system gives Gemini South telescope a remarkably clear view of the Carina Nebula, providing a wealth of never-before-seen detail.

Scientists precisely measure total amount of matter in the cosmos

28 September 2020 Astronomy Now

Astronomers come up with the best estimate yet for the total amount of normal and dark matter making up the universe.

Listening to the music of the Milky Way

26 September 2020 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have turned the 1s and 0s making up images from three space observatories into sound, allowing them to hear the “music” of the Milky Way.

Black hole’s shadow is wobbling, providing insights into dynamics of accretion disc

23 September 2020 Astronomy Now

The famously imaged shadow of the supermassive black hole at the heart of galaxy M87 is wobbling, opening a new window on the dynamics of its accretion disc.

Researchers find exoplanet with pi-like 3.14-day orbit

22 September 2020 Astronomy Now

Researchers digging through Kepler Space Telescope data found an exoplanet with a pi-like 3.14-day orbit around a cool , low-mass star.

Giant Magellan Telescope wins grant to help develop advanced technologies

20 September 2020 Astronomy Now

The Giant Magellan Telescope Organisation wins a $17.5-million grant to help develop advanced adaptive optics and mirror alignment technology.