News – Page 162 – Astronomy Now

How big can a black hole grow?

19 December 2015 Astronomy Now

Black holes at the heart of galaxies could swell to 50 billion times the mass of the Sun before losing the discs of gas they rely on to sustain themselves, according to research conducted by Professor Andrew King from the University of Leicester’s Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Did the ancient Egyptians record the period of eclipsing binary Algol?

18 December 2015 Astronomy Now

A scholarly investigation of the Cairo Calendar papyrus (1244–1163 B.C.) has led researchers at the University of Helsinki to conclude that the ancient Egyptians were aware that the variable star Algol (beta Persei) had a 2.85-day period. Given that the star’s current period is 2.8673 days, this supports the theory that mass transfer between the stars of this eclipsing binary has caused a long-term increase of its orbital period.

Asteroid looks even better second time around

18 December 2015 Astronomy Now

Asteroid 1998 WT24 safely flew past Earth on 11 December at a distance of about 2.6 million miles (11 lunar distances). During its flyby, NASA scientists used the 230-foot (70-metre) DSS-14 antenna at Goldstone, California, to probe it with microwave transmissions. Using this technique, they created the highest-resolution radar pictures of the asteroid — 2.5 times better than when it was last imaged, 14 years ago.

Potentially habitable super-Earth found just 14 light-years away

18 December 2015 Astronomy Now

Australian astronomers from the University of New South Wales have discovered the closest potentially habitable planet found outside our solar system so far, orbiting a star just 14 light-years away. The planet, more than four times the mass of the Earth, is one of three that the team detected around a red dwarf star called Wolf 1061.

Galaxy cluster survey yields 3-D view of universe’s dark side

18 December 2015 Astronomy Now

An international team of astronomers used European Southern Observatory telescopes to complement other earth- and space-based instruments as part of the XXL survey of galaxy clusters. The ESO team measured the precise distances to the galaxy clusters, providing the 3-D view of the cosmos required to perform accurate measurements of dark matter and dark energy.

Final results of NameExoWorlds public vote released

17 December 2015 Astronomy Now

The votes are in — the names of 19 ExoWorlds (14 stars and 31 exoplanets orbiting them) have been chosen by public vote in the NameExoWorlds contest, and accepted by the IAU. Reflecting the truly international interest in astronomy, over half a million votes from 182 countries and territories contributed to the new official designations of the alien worlds.

Gamma rays from distant blazar galaxy tell story of an epic escape

16 December 2015 Astronomy Now

In April 2015, after travelling for about half the age of the universe, a flood of powerful gamma rays from a distant galaxy slammed into Earth’s atmosphere. Observations of PKS 1441+25, a rare type of galaxy called a blazar, provide a look into the environment near a supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s centre and offer a glimpse into the state of the cosmos 7 billion years ago.

Live Coverage: The flight of British astronaut Tim Peake

15 December 2015 Astronomy Now

Live coverage of the launch of British ESA astronaut Tim Peake to the International Space Station. The three-man Expedition 46 crew led by five-time space flier Yuri Malenchenko will ride a Soyuz rocket into orbit, speeding away from a Kazakh launch pad on a six-hour chase of the International Space Station. Liftoff is occurred on time at 1103 GMT.

Watch a replay of Soyuz crew’s launch from Kazakhstan

15 December 2015 Stephen Clark

Three crewmen from Russia, the United States and Great Britain blasted off toward the International Space Station on Tuesday, rocketing into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in pursuit of the orbiting research lab.

Mystery of missing exoplanet water solved using NASA space telescopes

14 December 2015 Astronomy Now

A survey of ten hot, Jupiter-sized exoplanets conducted with NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer telescopes has led a UK-US team to solve a long-standing mystery — why some of these worlds seem to have less water than expected. The findings offer new insights into the wide range of planetary atmospheres in our galaxy and how planets are assembled.