News – Page 69 – Astronomy Now

Astronomers stunned again by Eta Carinae – the star that will not die

3 August 2018 Astronomy Now

Eta Carinae, one of the brightest, most massive stars in the Milky Way, famously erupted 170 years ago, producing huge clouds of expanding debris. Astronomers studying light echoes from the blast may have found an explanation.

Successful occultation observations for New Horizons (updated 4 August)

2 August 2018 Astronomy Now

Mission planners preparing for the New Horizons flyby of a Kuiper Belt object on 1 January will attempt to monitor starlight as it is blocked out by the probe’s target, Ultima Thule, to update critical navigation data. Updated 4 August

Astronomers detect radioactive molecules in debris from stellar collision

1 August 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers studying the remnants of a collision between two stars have made the first direct detection of radioactive material outside Earth’s solar system, debris that was blasted into space from one star’s deep interior

NASA’s new planet hunter starts work

30 July 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA’s newest observatory in space has started its search for planets around other stars as astronomers zero in on worlds that are ripe for research by follow-up missions like the James Webb Space Telescope.

‘Radio rebound’ observed in aftermath of gamma ray burst

27 July 2018 Astronomy Now

A powerful gamma ray burst two billion light years away produced a long-lasting “radio rebound” shock wave that surprised astronomers, providing new insights into such cataclysmic explosions.

Epic campaign confirms relativity near supermassive black hole

26 July 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers tracking a star passing close to the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way have detected relativistic gravitational redshift in light reaching Earth.

Mars Express finds evidence of liquid water under Martian pole

25 July 2018 Astronomy Now

ESA’s Mars Express satellite, using ground-penetrating radar, has detected what appears to be a pool of liquid water below the red planet’s south polar region, a potentially habitable environment.

Pluto and Charon, as an astronaut would see them

23 July 2018 Astronomy Now

Three years after the New Horizons spacecraft raced past Pluto and its large moon Charon, mission scientists have released the most accurate colour views yet, showing the distant worlds as they would appear to an astronaut’s eyes.

Planck confirms standard Big Bang model – but ‘tensions’ remain

21 July 2018 Astronomy Now

The European Space Agency’s Planck spacecraft’s final data release confirms the standard model of the Big Bang in unprecedented detail, but disagreement on how fast the cosmos is expanding remains

X-rays indicate collision of young planets may explain star’s dimming

20 July 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers struggling to understand why an unusual stars periodically fades and brightens have collected X-ray observations indicating it may be due to the catastrophic collision of two infant planets.