News – Page 34 – Astronomy Now

28 July 2026

Chandra finds Jekyll and Hyde binary; also detects signs of record blast

1 March 2020 Astronomy Now

The Chandra X-ray Observatory examines an intriguing X-ray binary and, much farther from home, the most powerful explosion yet detected in deep space.

Car-size asteroid found in orbit around Earth; Musk jokes ‘it’s not mine’

27 February 2020 Astronomy Now

A car-size asteroid found orbiting Earth like a mini moon was captured three years ago and will soon escape the planet’s gravitational embrace.

Small black holes in colliding dwarf galaxies may be source of gravity waves

27 February 2020 Astronomy Now

Merging low-mass dwarf galaxies in the distant past could lead black hole collisions that would generate the sort of gravity waves detected to date.

Massive exoplanet in hellish 18-hour orbit faces tidal destruction

24 February 2020 Astronomy Now

A massive exoplanet is found in an 18-hour orbit around its host star, one of the shortest-period exoplanets discovered to date.

Hubble sheds light on the Sombrero galaxy’s surprising past

23 February 2020 Astronomy Now

Hubble Space Telescope observations of the Sombrero galaxy’s extended halo find surprising hints of turbulent mergers in the distant past.

InSight lander will try robotic elbow grease to help stalled heat probe

22 February 2020 Astronomy Now

With few options remaining, engineers will use the InSight Mars lander’s robot arm to help push a stalled heat probe below the surface.

Radio telescopes team up to unveil hundreds of protostars in Orion

21 February 2020 Astronomy Now

Two of the world’s most powerful radio telescopes team up to study hundreds of protostars and infant solar systems in the Orion Molecular Clouds.

Heather Couper, 1949–2020

20 February 2020 Keith Cooper

Heather Couper, one of the UK’s most prolific astronomy broadcasters and writers, who inspired many to take up stargazing, has died at the age of 70.

Tell-tale signatures of aurorae new tool in hunt for exoplanets

20 February 2020 Astronomy Now

Astronomers detect auroral interactions between a red dwarf and an unseen exoplanet, providing a new tool for studying exoplanet habitability.

ESO’s Very Large Telescope shows dramatic dimming of Betelgeuse

14 February 2020 Astronomy Now

Astronomers capture dramatic before-and-after views of the red supergiant Betelgeuse, showing major changes in brightness and shape.