News – Page 9 – Astronomy Now

20 August 2026

Webb captures detailed infrared view of Uranus, its moons and dusty rings

7 April 2023 Astronomy Now

The James Webb Space Telescope captures a detailed infrared view of Uranus, showing its dusty rings in sharp relief along with storms and the steeply-tilted planet’s polar cap.

Astronomers catch a rare glimpse of two quasars in the process of colliding

6 April 2023 Astronomy Now

Using space- and ground-based telescopes, astronomers get a rare look at two quasars in the process of merging just 3 billion years after the Big Bang.

“Rain” from Saturn’s rings heats the planet’s upper atmosphere

5 April 2023 Astronomy Now

An analysis of archival data shows particles raining down from Saturn’s rings heat the planet’s upper atmosphere.

The brightest gamma ray burst ever observed defies long-standing models

4 April 2023 Astronomy Now

The “BOAT” of gamma ray bursts – the brightest of all time – raises new questions about how such powerful outbursts are generated and interact with their environments.

Supermassive black holes not impressive enough? Try the ultramassive version

29 March 2023 Astronomy Now

Gravitational lensing helps astronomers find one of the most massive black holes yet discovered, a 30-billion solar mass monster at the heart of a remote galaxy.

James Webb’s infrared vision lets astronomers take an exoplanet’s temperature

28 March 2023 Astronomy Now

The James Webb Space Telescope takes a rocky exoplanet’s temperature, giving astronomers a powerful new tool for studying alien worlds.

NASA gearing up for OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample recovery

27 March 2023 Astronomy Now

Procedures are being refined to ensure the safe recovery of samples from asteroid Bennu when they are returned to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on 24 September.

A simpler, more mundane explanation for ‘Oumuamua’s strange behaviour

23 March 2023 Astronomy Now

The unusual acceleration of the interstellar body ‘Oumuamua most likely was caused by the outgassing of trapped hydrogen gas, researchers say.

Japanese Hakuto-R moon lander slips into lunar orbit

22 March 2023 Astronomy Now

The first privately-developed lunar lander – Hakuto-R – successfully braked into orbit around the moon after a three-month voyage; landing on tap in April.

Analysis of Magellan data shows apparent volcanic activity on Venus

21 March 2023 Astronomy Now

Data captured by NASA’s Magellan Venus probe in 1991 shows what appears to be lava flows from an active vent on the side of a huge volcano known as Maat Mons.