News

Dutch MeerLICHT telescope on the lookout for exploding stars

28 May 2018 Astronomy Now

A new optical telescope featuring a 100-megapixel camera will work in concert with a large radio telescope to precisely locate supernovas and other transient high-energy events that show up across multiple wavelenghts.

With fuel running low, Kepler begins 18th observing campaign

27 May 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope began its 18th observing campaign on 12 May, an 82-day run focusing on star clusters, galaxies and a handful of solar system bodies as the spacecraft nears the end of its life. Among its targets is 99942 Apophis, an asteroid expected to pass close by Earth in 2029.

Evidence found for ‘giant comet’ theory of Pluto’s origin

26 May 2018 William Harwood

Data collected by NASA’s New Horizons probe and ESA’s Rosetta mission suggest Pluto might have formed from the accretion of a billion or so smaller bodies similar to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and other Kuiper Belt objects.

Jets seen by Rosetta caused by comet’s strange shape

25 May 2018 Astronomy Now

ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft observed unusual jets of gas and dust spewing from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko every morning as the sun came up. A new study shows those jets formed as a result of the comet’s strange topography.

Curiosity once again drilling into Mars rocks after long hiatus

24 May 2018 Astronomy Now

The drill at the end of the Curiosity Mars rover’s robot arm is back in action after being sidelined for more than a year by a mechanical problem. A new technique was successfully tested 20 May after months of engineering tests on Earth.

Interstellar asteroid captured by Sun in distant past

23 May 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers analyzing the retrograde motion of an asteroid orbiting the Sun at Jupiter’s distance shows the body most likely originated in another star system and was captured by the gravity of the Sun and its planets at some point in the distant past.

Dutch MeerLICHT telescope on the lookout for exploding stars

With fuel running low, Kepler begins 18th observing campaign

Evidence found for ‘giant comet’ theory of Pluto’s origin

Jets seen by Rosetta caused by comet’s strange shape

Curiosity once again drilling into Mars rocks after long hiatus

Interstellar asteroid captured by Sun in distant past

Computer simulations suggest reason for strange moon shapes

Hubble catalogues star-forming regions in nearby galaxies

TESS planet hunter snaps test photo showing 200,000 stars

Multiverse more hospitable than previously thought?