Algieba – Astronomy Now

4 June 2023

Latest News

[ 1 June 2023 ] Webb spots vast plume of water vapor spewing from Saturn’s moon Enceladus News
[ 26 May 2023 ] Seeing the universe in X-rays, optical and infrared, all at once News
[ 15 May 2023 ] A record-setting explosion as a supermassive black hole gorges on gas News
[ 13 May 2023 ] Globular cluster mystery may be explained by short-lived ultra-massive suns News
[ 12 May 2023 ] Jammed radar boom on Jupiter-bound Juice probe finally freed News

International Astronomical Union formally approves 227 star names

24 November 2016 Astronomy Now

The creation of a specialised IAU Working Group, the Working Group on Star Names (WGSN), was approved by the IAU Executive Committee in May 2016 to formalise star names that have been used colloquially for centuries. WGSN has now established a new catalogue of IAU star names, with the first set of 227 approved names published on the IAU website.

See the Moon’s close encounter with Jupiter on 21 March

21 March 2016 Ade Ashford

As darkness falls, observers in Western Europe and the British Isles fortunate to have clear skies can view a naked-eye conjunction between largest planet Jupiter and the Moon. For telescope owners, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot will be on show, while Galilean moons Io and Europa partake in a close orbital dance.