News – Page 209 – Astronomy Now

See Comet Lovejoy at its best

6 January 2015 Ade Ashford

With Full Moon past, opportunities to see Comet Lovejoy are improving again. So don’t miss the first bright comet of 2015 with our nightly observing guide.

Hubble Revisits the Iconic ‘Pillars of Creation’

5 January 2015 Astronomy Now

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the Hubble Space Telescope has revisited the famous “Pillars of Creation”, providing astronomers with a sharper and wider view.

Dark energy explained by relativistic time dilation?

5 January 2015 Astronomy Now

Dark energy is proposed to drive the accelerated expansion of the universe, but a new study suggests that changing how we think about time dilation in relation to gravity as predicted by Albert Einstein can provide an alternate explanation.

Don’t miss the Quadrantid meteor shower

2 January 2015 Mark Armstrong

The first shooting stars of 2015 belong to the the Quadrantids, a shower that peaks on the night of 3rd/4th January. Despite the interference of a gibbous Moon, expect some bright, sometimes blue and yellow coloured meteors that may leave glowing trails.

Dawn begins final approach to dwarf planet Ceres

1 January 2015 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has begun its final approach to the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt, for an in-depth survey of the uncharted world.

Get ready for Comet Lovejoy!

29 December 2014 Ade Ashford

C/2014 Q2, better known as Comet Lovejoy, is brightening fast and rapidly heading into the Northern Hemisphere sky. Here’s our quick guide to viewing what will hopefully be the first naked-eye comet of 2015.

NASA spacecraft to get bonus time studying Mercury

29 December 2014 Stephen Clark

Running low on fuel after completing the first global survey of Mercury, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft could get an extra month of time at the solar system’s innermost planet thanks to a crafty new way of using helium gas to temporarily forestall the mission’s end next year.

Four billion-year-old meteorite reveals climate of ancient Mars

27 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Recovered from an Antarctic ice field exactly 30 years ago, a 4 billion-year-old Martian meteorite named ALH84001 reveals a detailed record of the Red Planet’s climate, back when water likely washed across its surface.

Scientific riches await Philae comet lander, if it wakes up

25 December 2014 Stephen Clark

Optimistic Europe’s hibernating Philae comet lander can be revived, mission controllers plan to try and contact the spacecraft as soon as January as the search narrows for the probe’s final resting place — a site within arm’s reach of pristine ice and organic matter ripe for analysis if the mission gets a new lease on life.

Sun sizzles in high-energy X-rays

23 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Designed to study black holes, supernova remnants and other extreme objects beyond our Solar System, NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) has captured the most sensitive portrait of the Sun ever taken in high-energy X-rays.