A new multimillion-rand telescope in the Karoo will offer astronomers an unprecedented view of the stars. The MeerLICHT instrument in Sutherland will be specifically linked to the MeerKAT radio telescope array near Carnarvon in the Northern Cape. Unlike its bigger brother SALT (Southern African Large Telescope), the MeerLICHT is meant …
The Chandra space observatory, launched last month by the US National Aeronautical and Space Administration, has already started transmitting images. It has sent images of the heart of the Crab Nebula, a star that exploded in the 11 century, which was recorded by Chinese astronomers. The images show energetic material …
by the end of the eighteenth century, five planets, excluding the Earth, were known to humankind. These planets were visible to the naked eye, and were ascribed godlike qualities in all ancient cosmologies. It was only in 1781 that an amateur astronomer, W Herschel, discovered Uranus
ever since Edwin Hubble discovered in 1929 that the universe is expanding, scientists have been incessantly trying to establish its rate of expansion, known as the Hubble constant. This is crucial to our understanding of the past, present and future of the universe. Recently, two groups of astronomers have reported …
Studies have estimated that the present landscape of Mars was created about two billion years ago and little further processing has occurred. Researchers have now identified an impact-produced crater about 25 cm in diameter on a rock studied by the Mars Pathfinder. They suggest that fractures and angular shapes on …
Astronomers in the us say that they have spotted a tiny moon orbiting an asteroid. The new moon, which is yet to be named, is circling the asteroid Eugenia. It was discovered with the help of a telescope based in Hawaii that used a specially deformed mirror to correct for …
in an ambitious revival of exploration of Mars, two us spacecraft have approached the planet. One spacecraft has studied the atmosphere, prospects of water and observed weather through the seasons of a full Martian year (687 days). The second craft is on course for a landing on December 3 at …
what makes the Great Red Spot red? And why has it lasted so long? These are some of the questions scientists who have spent years studying Jupiter have not found an answer to. Now Kevin Baines, a planetary scientist at National Aeronautics and Space Research's ( nasa ) Jet Propulsion …
With the successful placing of the Chandra X-ray telescope in its highly elliptical orbit, astronomers are looking forward to get a fresh insight into the mysteries of several cosmic phenomena like pulsars and black holes. The telescope itself is 14 metres long, has excellent sensitivity and its resolution is eight …
the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project team has announced that its efforts to measure the distances of far-away galaxies are now complete. To achieve this, the eight-year effort has been using the Hubble space telescope ( hst ). This, in turn, is an essential ingredient for determining the characteristics of …
The Red Planet Mars never ceases to surprise scientists. The Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft has found patterns of surface rock which are magnetised. These are stripes of magnetic material which point alternately in one or the other direction. These patterns resemble the patterns observed at mid-ocean rift zones on Earth. …
a team of researchers at the State University of New York ( suny) , Stony Brook have announced the discovery of a galaxy which is the farthest object known to us. The galaxy is so far that the light we are seeing from it started when the universe was only …
astronomers re-examining data collected 12 years ago when supernova 1987 a exploded say the new understanding only serves to bring them one step closer to proving a link between the dramatic gamma-ray bursters and exploding stars. The giant dying star had jettisoned stellar debris in a narrow jet moving at …
scientists will soon have a new tool to search for the "fossil record' of the Big Bang and uncover clues about the evolution of the Universe. Scheduled to be launched on June 23, National Aeronautic and Space Administration's ( nasa ) Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer ( fuse ) will observe …
the nature of time has puzzled scientists and philosophers for centuries. Is the universe symmetrical with respect to time or is there a preferred direction of time? Now, this question is closer to an answer with two experiments in Geneva and Illinois reporting clear evidence that the world is not …
Astrophysicists from around the world gathered near the town of Malargue in Mendoza province of Argentina in the second week of March. Their aim was to break new ground on a US $53-million facility, which they hope will solve one of the great mysteries of the sky: where do cosmic …
On January 23, 1999, an Italian/ Dutch satellite called BeppoSAX spotted an unusually intense burst of gamma rays. The dazzling burst is the most violent explosion of gamma rays ever witnessed in the universe, and its source was estimated to be about 10 billion light years away. The afterglow suggested …
An automated telescope that traces asteroids has discovered a chunk of rock some 40 metres in diameter that is circling the Sun in an orbit close to the Earth's. The asteroid is believed to be a chip off the Moon. Gareth Williams of the Harvard Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, …
the us National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( nasa ) plans to launch its biggest space telescope that will be named Chandra (after the India-born scientist S Chandrasekhar) in July 1999. Its specific objective will be "to unravel the mysteries of the evolution of the Universe'. The sheer size and …
