News – Page 61 – Astronomy Now

Gaia data reveals previously unseen ‘ghost’ galaxy near Milky Way

13 November 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers sifting through the treasure trove of data from the Gaia spacecraft have discovered a large but exceedingly dim dwarf galaxy lurking near the outskirts of the Milky Way.

Parker Solar Probe in good shape after close approach to Sun

13 November 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe came through its first close encounter with the sun on 5 November in excellent condition after braving extreme temperatures and radiation studying the solar corona.

Hot magnetosphere around white dwarf explains mystery

9 November 2018 Astronomy Now

For the first time, a powerful magnetosphere has been detected around a white dwarf, providing a mechanism that explains a long-standing mystery.

Merging galactic black holes focus of new survey

9 November 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers are getting their best views yet of supermassive black holes in the cores of colliding galaxies moving toward mergers, rapidly growing as they gorge on stellar debris

Astronomers find oldest known star in the Milky Way

6 November 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have found what may be the oldest star in the Milky Way, a tiny 13.5-billion-year-old body made up primarily of elements created in the Big Bang.

Data indicate Milky Way smash up 10 billion years ago

4 November 2018 Astronomy Now

Data from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft indicate a large galaxy collided with the Milky Way about 10 billion years ago, leaving identifiable stars strewn in its wake to help astronomers piece together our galaxy’s history.

OSIRIS-REx captures first clear images of asteroid Bennu

3 November 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, closing in on asteroid Bennu, has sent back photos showing a body remarkably similar in appearance to the asteroid Ryugu being studied by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft.

NASA’s Dawn mission comes to an end in orbit around Ceres

1 November 2018 Astronomy Now

Like its cousin the Kepler space telescope, NASA’s Dawn mission to the asteroids Vesta and Ceres has run out of gas, ending a remarkably successful 11-year mission to the two largest members of the asteroid belt.

Scientists say observations confirm black hole at Milky Way’s core

31 October 2018 Astronomy Now

New Observations of infrared flares at the heart of the Milky Way confirm the presence of a 4-million-solar-mass black hole lurking in the dust-shrouded core of Earth’s galaxy, scientists say.

Planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft out of fuel, ending mission

30 October 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s exoplanet-hunting Kepler spacecraft has final run out of fuel, forcing its retirement after an extended 9.5-year mission that saw the discovery of 2,681 confirmed planets to date and 2,899 more candidates.