News – Page 51 – Astronomy Now

Upgrades to gravity wave detectors promise more discoveries

3 April 2019 Astronomy Now

After major upgrades to improve sensitivity, the LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave observatories are set to begin a year of joint observations.

Astronomers spot asteroid in a debris-spewing suicidal spin

1 April 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have spotted a ‘smoking gun’ example of an unstable asteroid spun up by the subtle effects of solar radiation and infrared emissions.

Mars Helicopter shows it has ‘right stuff’ for red planet

31 March 2019 Astronomy Now

A small helicopter that will be delivered by NASA’s Mars 2020 rover has successfully completed initial test flights in a simulated martian environment.

First exoplanet directly observed with optical interferometry

29 March 2019 Astronomy Now

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, a team of astronomers has made the first direct observation of an exoplanet using optical interferometry.

Visualizing the chaos near the Milky Way’s central black hole

24 March 2019 Astronomy Now

A 360-dergree visualization of the Milky Way’s core from the perspective of its central supermassive black hole shows the chaotic motion of nearby stars and gas clouds.

Rumors of a quasar’s death may have been premature

21 March 2019 Astronomy Now

A voracious quasar at the heart of a galaxy 1.1 billion light years away is blowing huge bubbles in space, giving the host galaxy the shape of a teacup.

Asteroid Bennu surprises with rocky surface and activity

20 March 2019 Astronomy Now

The OSIRIS-REx sample-return spacecraft is finding one surprise after another orbiting asteroid Bennu, including unexpected “ejection events.”

Ultima Thule answers – and raises – questions about early solar system

19 March 2019 Astronomy Now

Data from the New Horizons flyby of the Kuiper Belt body Ultima Thule on New Year’s Day sheds new light on processes at work during the solar system’s birth.

Astronomers find 83 quasars already shining in early universe

18 March 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers studying light from the extremely early universe have discovered 83 quasars, indicating supermassive black holes were commonplace early on.

NASA selects nine teams to study unopened Apollo moon samples

12 March 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA has selected nine teams to study pristine soil samples brought back from the moon by Apollo astronauts that have remained unopened for 50 years.