Written by Finish the year by tracking down one of the oldest known constellations: Taurus, the bull. The chart shows the view looking south from London at 22.00 GMT on 30 December. The view will remain essentially the same all week. According to Babylonian star charts from about 1000BC, the grouping of stars we now call Taurus […]
Skywatchers will have the opportunity to close out the year by experiencing a rare astronomical event known as the “black moon”. The fascinating-sounding term is often used to describe the second new moon that appears in a single calendar month. It is an occurrence that is not officially recognised in astronomy but over the years, […]
Get your Christmas started with a celestial achievement by tracking down the inner planet Mercury early in the morning. Because of its tight orbit, Mercury never appears far from the sun. This makes it a challenging object to observe because it never appears in a fully dark sky, only close to the horizon during twilight. […]
This image released by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, May 12, 2022, shows a black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The Milky Way black hole is called Sagittarius A*, near the border of Sagittarius and Scorpius constellations. Credit: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration via AP Scientists have spotted what appear to be […]
For the past 10 years cosmologists have been left scratching their heads over why two methods for measuring the universe’s rate of expansion provide totally different results. There are two possible solutions to the puzzle, known as the Hubble tension: either something is wrong with the measurements or something is wrong with our model of […]
Just as the outline of an iron-age hut or remains of a Roman sword cause excitement today, archaeologists of the future could be brushing Martian dust off metal and marvelling at one of Nasa’s rovers. Researchers have said that such instruments, as well as other forms of human activity on Mars, including landing sites and […]
Another week, another meteor shower. Last week it was the highly reliable Geminids meteor shower, this week it is the lesser shower known as the Ursids. Whereas the Geminids were disrupted by the presence of a full moon, the Ursids will appear in a largely dark sky. Only after midnight will the moon, now progressed […]
Main image: Honourable mention, solar system category: Half & Half by Dennis MellicanThe moon at half phase. On the daylit side we see titanium-rich (purple) and iron-rich (red) material, prominent crater Copernicus and the smooth lunar maria (solid lava seas). Sat 14 Dec 2024 14.00 GMT Source link
One of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year is expected to light up the night sky this weekend. The Geminid meteor shower, which is called a meteor storm because of its intensity, is expected to peak some time between Saturday and Sunday. It has been known to produce more than 150 meteors an […]
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