News – Astronomy Now

16 September 2019

Milky Way’s central black hole flares as it feasts

14 September 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers monitoring the supermassive black hole at the core of the Milky Way have noted three unprecedented flare ups this year as it gobbles stellar debris.

Newly discovered comet likely from interstellar space

13 September 2019 Astronomy Now

A newly-discovered comet is barreling into the solar system at a velocity that indicates it likely came in from interstellar space. Researchers are working on confirmation.

NASA lunar orbiter to image Chandrayaan 2 landing site next week

13 September 2019 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will try to locate India’s Vikram lander on the moon during a flyover of the landing site Tuesday. Indian space officials said they found the disabled spacecraft on the moon using the country’s own Chandrayaan 2 orbiter, but declined to release any images.

Black hole’s gravitational ringing supports ‘no hair’ theorem

12 September 2019 Astronomy Now

Researchers hear “overtones” in gravity waves generated by black hole merger, confirming predictions of relativity theory and supporting “no hair” theorem.

HST finds water vapor in atmosphere of habitable zone exoplanet

11 September 2019 Astronomy Now

For the first time, astronomers have detected the signature of water vapour in the atmosphere of an exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of its host star.

Long-term study maps relativistic effects in binary pulsar

9 September 2019 Astronomy Now

A 14-year study of a binary pulsar matches predictions from relativity theory regarding how the spin axis of each pulsar changes direction, or precesses, over time.

Black hole telescope team shares $3 million Breakthrough Prize

9 September 2019 Astronomy Now

Researchers with the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration will share a $3 million Breakthrough Prize for their historic image of the supermassive black hole at the core of the M87 galaxy.

Exoplanet traced to home star in binary system

5 September 2019 Astronomy Now

Using a technique known as speckle imaging, astronomers have pinned down the orbit of an exoplanet in a binary star system.

Evidence found for volcanic ‘extreme Io’ exomoon

3 September 2019 Astronomy Now

Sodium gas detected near a giant exoplant 550 light years away may indicated the presence of a volcanically active exomoon.

WFIRST telescope passes preliminary design review

30 August 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope optical system passes a preliminary design review, a major milestone in the Hubble-class wide-field observatory.