News

A swarm of robots assembled to detect effects of dark energy

27 October 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers, engineers and students are busy building a complex instrument that will be used with the 4-metre Mayall Telescope to probe the nature of dark energy by collecting the spectra of millions of galaxies.

Using pulsars to precisely weigh planets and asteroids

26 October 2018 Astronomy Now

Ultra-precise signals from millisecond pulsars are being used to help astronomers more accurately measure the masses of bodies in Earth’s solar system, a technique that is remarkably sensitive to small changes.

As New Horizons closes in on Ultima Thule, scientists propose a Pluto orbiter

25 October 2018 Astronomy Now

Three years outbound from Pluto, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is homing in on a Kuiper Belt object dubbed Ultima Thule for a dramatic New Year’s Day flyby, the first by any space probe in the extreme outer solar system.

Slow-motion neutron star challenges theoretical predictions

24 October 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers using the LOFAR radio telescope have discovered the slowest-spinning pulsar yet detected, a highly magnetized stellar remnant that takes more than 23 seconds to complete one revolution.

ALMA takes Europa’s temperature; heat signatures not seen at plume sites

23 October 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have created a thermal map of Jupiter’s moon Europa, showing temperature variations across its surface. But another team has found no signs of hot spots where suspected plumes are located.

NASA prepares Hubble for return to service after gyro work

23 October 2018 Astronomy Now

Engineers have cleared a problem with one of the Hubble Space Telescope’s critical gyroscopes and plan to return the observatory to normal science operations after final tests to verify healthy performance.

Ariane 5 launches two satellites on 7-year voyage to Mercury

21 October 2018 William Harwood

A powerful European Ariane 5 rocket blasted off from French Guiana late Friday and boosted a pair of satellites into space for a seven-year plunge into the inner solar system, a voyage requiring seven planetary flybys to slow down enough in the sun’s gravitational clutches to slip into orbit around hellish Mercury.