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NASA news conference on oceans beyond Earth

13 April 2017 Astronomy Now

Watch NASA’s news conference to discuss new findings on the ocean-bearing moons of Jupiter and Saturn and the prospects for life there.

Possible Venus twin discovered around dim star

11 April 2017 Astronomy Now

Astronomers using NASA’s Kepler space telescope have found a planet 219 light-years away that seems to be a close relative to Venus. This newly discovered world is only slightly larger than Earth and orbits a low-temperature star called Kepler-1649 that’s one-fifth the diameter of our Sun.

Ceres’ temporary atmosphere linked to solar activity

7 April 2017 Astronomy Now

Scientists have long thought that Ceres may have a very weak, transient atmosphere, but mysteries lingered about its origin and why it’s not always present. Now, researchers suggest that this temporary atmosphere appears to be related to the behaviour of the Sun, rather than Ceres’ proximity to the Sun.

InSight lander’s troubled seismometer passes major test

3 April 2017 Stephen Clark

A balky interplanetary seismic instrument that ran into technical problems in 2015, forcing a two-year delay in the launch of NASA’s InSight lander to Mars, cleared a major test last month after engineers redesigned part of the sensor package, boosting confidence that the mission will be ready to blast off in May 2018.

Mysterious cosmic explosion puzzles astronomers

3 April 2017 Astronomy Now

A mysterious flash of X-rays has been discovered by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory in the deepest X-ray image ever obtained. This source likely comes from some sort of destructive event, but may be of a variety that scientists have never seen before.

The International Space Station appears to pass close to the Moon

2 April 2017 Steven Young

This video was captured from Astronomy Now Headquarters and shows the International Space Station appearing close to the waxing crescent Moon as it passed 405 km (252 miles) high overhead at 1926 UT on 2 April 2017.

Curiosity rover shows new signs of wheel wear

2 April 2017 Stephen Clark

Engineers have spotted two small breaks in the treading on the left middle wheel on NASA’s Curiosity rover, one of six wheels that have moved the robot nearly 16 kilometres (10 miles) across the Martian surface since landing in August 2012.

Gravitational wave kicks monster black hole out of galactic core

28 March 2017 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have uncovered a supermassive black hole that has been propelled out of the centre of a distant galaxy by what could be the awesome power of gravitational waves.

Juno orbiter races by Jupiter on fourth science pass

28 March 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Juno spacecraft sailed over Jupiter’s cloud tops early Monday, the fourth time the solar-powered probe has approached the giant planet and collected science data since its arrival last July 4.

MAVEN data show thinning atmosphere drove the drying and cooling of Mars

28 March 2017 Stephen Clark

Data collected by NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft in its first two years at Mars confirm suspicions that the solar wind is blasting away the planet’s atmosphere and helped transform the world from a warmer, wetter and potentially habitable world into the barren landscape seen today, scientists said.