Picture This

Picture This

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover looking more and more like a rover

28 July 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover, scheduled for launch on 17 July 2020, is rapidly maturing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where engineers recently tested the spacecraft’s multi-joint robot arm as critical instruments and other systems are installed and tested.

Picture This

Up and over a spiral galaxy

27 July 2019 Astronomy Now

A sharply angled perspective, such as the one shown in Hubble Space Telescope image of the spiral galaxy NGC 3169, can make it seem as if we, the viewers, are craning our necks to see over a barrier into the galaxy’s bright centre.

Picture This

Totality over the observatory domes

7 July 2019 Astronomy Now

The path of totality of a solar eclipse touched the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory on 2 July 2019. This rare astronomical event occurred as the observatory celebrated its 50th year of operation.

Picture This

A Warhol-like look at the Whirlpool, courtesy of Spitzer

30 June 2019 Astronomy Now

Combining visible-light and multi-wavelength infrared views of the Whirlpool galaxy reveals a Warhol-like series of images highlighting the dust lanes and star-forming regions of the glorious spiral and the relatively featureless nature of the smaller companion.