News – Page 15 – Astronomy Now

Superflares may be less threatening than originally thought

11 August 2021 Astronomy Now

Superflares from red dwarf stars, long thought to be a threat to orbiting exoplanets, may not be as dangerous as previously thought, researchers say.

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.

Engineers troubleshoot Mars rover sample collection failure

7 August 2021 Astronomy Now

Engineers are assessing an initial, unsuccessful attempt by the Perseverance Mars rover to collect its first rock sample from the floor of Jezero Crater.

Jupiter’s high temperature traced to planet’s powerful auroras

4 August 2021 Astronomy Now

A 50-year-old mystery solved: a detailed analysis shows Jupiter’s intense auroras heat the atmosphere on a global scale.

“Mountains” on neutron stars just fractions of a millimetre tall

28 July 2021 Astronomy Now

Computer modelling suggests neutron stars are gravitationally compressed into near-perfect spheres.

InSight finds frigid Mars has molten core

27 July 2021 Astronomy Now

An ultra-sensitive seismometer aboard NASA’s InSight Mars lander finds a huge molten core at the heart of the red planet.

In a first, ALMA spies huge moon-forming disc around exoplanet

24 July 2021 Astronomy Now

ALMA confirms the presence of a possible moon-forming disc of dusty debris around a Jupiter-size exoplanet 400 light years from Earth.

Perseverance Mars rover poised to collect first rock samples

23 July 2021 Astronomy Now

Five months after landing in Jezero Crater, the Perseverance Mars rover is finally ready to begin collecting samples for eventual return to Earth.

Whew! Hubble Space Telescope back in operation

17 July 2021 Astronomy Now

After a month of complex troubleshooting, engineers have successfully restored the Hubble Space Telescope to normal operations.

Astronomers spot two stars locked in supernova death spiral

13 July 2021 Astronomy Now

Astronomers spot a teardrop-shaped star indicating the distorting presence of a white dwarf as the two spiral toward a supernova blast.