News – Page 18 – Astronomy Now

Helium ‘rain’ in Saturn’s interior may influence magnetic field

7 May 2021 Astronomy Now

Data collected by the Cassini spacecraft during its final few orbits of Saturn is shedding new light on the planet’s deep interior.

Proposed Interstellar Probe gains momentum with Johns Hopkins study

28 April 2021 Astronomy Now

Engineers are testing prototype heat shields for a proposed interstellar probe that first would fly close by the Sun for a gravitational slingshot into deep space.

New ‘test-bed’ telescope joins hunt for threatening asteroids

27 April 2021 Astronomy Now

A European Space Agency “test-bed” telescope has been installed at ESO’s La Silla Observatory to hunt for threatening asteroids and test advanced technology.

Monster flare from Proxima Centauri dwarfs any ever seen from the Sun

21 April 2021 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have spotted the most powerful flare ever seen erupting from Proxima Centauri, an outburst 100 times more powerful than any from the Sun.

Ingenuity Mars ‘copter makes historic first flight on red planet

19 April 2021 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter completes a successful test flight, becoming the first aircraft to fly in the atmosphere of another world. Four more flights are planned.

Mars helicopter software update sets stage for Monday test flight

11 April 2021 Astronomy Now

NASA reschedules Mars helicopter flight for Monday, 19 April, after developing software fix for a computer timing issue.

Astronomers spot merging galaxies hosting dual quasars

7 April 2021 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have spotted two pairs of quasars in the cores of merging galaxies just a few billion years after the birth of the cosmos, shedding light on galactic evolution.

RAS warns of growing light pollution as satellite fleets expand

1 April 2021 Astronomy Now

Growing fleets of satellites in low-Earth orbit threaten to increase overall skyglow, a new study concludes, raising the prospect of light pollution across large areas.

InSight lander detects two more sizeable marsquakes

1 April 2021 Astronomy Now

An ultra-sensitive seismometer deployed by the Mars InSight lander has detected two more sizable marsquakes, data helping scientists map the planet’s interior.

Interstellar comet 2I/Borisov may be most pristine ever seen

31 March 2021 Astronomy Now

The interstellar comet 2I/Borisov may be the most pristine ever observed, astronomers say, an untarnished remnant of another star’s nursery.