News – Page 28 – Astronomy Now

Giant star spots, not dust, likely culprit in dimming of Betelgeuse

29 June 2020 Astronomy Now

The pronounced dimming of the red giant Betelgeuse likely was caused by huge star spots, not by intervening dust, researchers say.

Monster black hole in early universe challenges theorists

25 June 2020 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have found a 1.5-billion-solar-mass black hole dating back to within 700 million years of the Big Bang birth of the cosmos.

Gravity waves herald merger of black hole and enigmatic companion

24 June 2020 Astronomy Now

Gravity waves indicate the merger of a massive black hole and a much less massive companion that may represent a new class of objects.

Researchers build “supernova in a box” to study the physics of stellar blasts

23 June 2020 Astronomy Now

Researchers build a “supernova machine” to mimic in miniature the explosive turbulent mixing that occurs when stars explode.

Scientists ponder inconclusive data from dark matter experiment

21 June 2020 Astronomy Now

It’s not yet clear what, if anything, the XENON dark matter experiment may have detected during its recent run, but scientists are hopeful something new is in the offing.

Astronomers find baby pulsar – a rare magnetar – born just 240 years ago

17 June 2020 Astronomy Now

The youngest known pulsar, born in a supernova blast just 240 years ago, also is a powerful magnetar, shedding new light on an enigmatic class of stellar powerhouses.

Study suggests alien civilisations similar to Earth’s are few and very far between

16 June 2020 Astronomy Now

A new study, using Earth as a model, suggests alien civilizations should exist, but they would be few and very far between, making detection and communication extremely difficult.

Curiosity Mars rover spots Earth and Venus in bright twilight sky

15 June 2020 Astronomy Now

The Curiosity Mars rover looks up from the martian surface to capture images of Earth and Venus in a bright twilight sky, showing humanity’s home as a tiny speck of light.

More evidence of trouble at the heart of the standard model

15 June 2020 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have come up with another value for the Hubble constant, more evidence that the standard model of the cosmos and its expansion need revision

New Horizons shows nearby stars from an unearthly perspective

12 June 2020 Astronomy Now

NASA’s New Horizons probe captures images of nearby stars that show the unmistakable effects of parallax when compared with Earth-based views.