Category Archives: News and Updates

News about Astronomy and Space Science. Find every news item and update here, in blog format. You can get these updates sent straight to your mailbox by subscribing here, or you can subscribe to the RSS feed by clicking the link.

Pioneer anomaly solution confirmed

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About a year ago, Urban Astronomer reported on a paper by Frederico Francisco et al offering a possible explanation for the Pioneer Anomaly.  Unlike every other spacecraft launched from Earth, Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11’s didn’t quite fly through space in the way that mission planners had predicted.  The discrepancy was vanishingly small (they were slowing down by about a billionth of a meter per second squared more than expected), but navigation through space is such a precise art that … Continue reading →

Beautiful Jupiter

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Those of us who follow such things are quite used to the steady stream of incredible images of Saturn and its moons sent back to us by the Cassini spacecraft over the past few years.  But did you know that Cassini snapped a few images of Jupiter while still en route to Saturn?  This image, taken in December 2000, shows the galilean moon Io, with giant Jupiter as a backdrop and I strongly recommend clicking it to see the larger … Continue reading →

SKA decision delayed again

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Members of the SKA Organisation had their first general meeting yesterday, to look at the  recommendations put forward by the site selection committee.  Their conclusion?  None.  Instead, they’ve decided to form another working group, to look at how to get the greatest advantage from the various innovations and projects put forward by both candidates (Australia and South Africa).  Which sounds to me like they want to have their cake and eat it.  Despite the objections of both candidates, the suggestion … Continue reading →

Sky and Telescope release Android app – Free!

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One of the most popular regular features of Sky and Telescope’s webpage is the “Week at a Glance” section, a detailed summary of the week’s observational highlights.  This, and related material, has long been available as an app for your iPhone, for a reasonable fee.  To mark S&T’s 70th anniversary year, the magazine has decided to release an Android version of this app, and make it free to download!  “The S&T SkyWeek Droid app is a follow-up to our S&T … Continue reading →

Solar Storms Charging Upper Atmosphere

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The recent solar activity on the sun has dumped enough energy into the upper atmosphere of earth to “power every residence in New York city for 2 years”. This comes from a NASA Science report of 22 March which has it on good authority from, Martin Mlynczak, based at their own Langley centre. “The thermosphere lit up like a Christmas tree,” adds James Russell.  “It began to glow intensely at infrared wavelengths as the thermostat effect kicked in.” This information … Continue reading →