Innehållsförteckning för No. 149 från All About Space

SCAN HERE TO GET OUR DAILY NEWSLETTER ALL ABOUT SPACE ISSUE 150 ON SALE 30 NOVEMBER Christmas is almost upon us, with many of us in the midst of buying gifts. I occasionally open my inbox to find readers asking for advice on the best telescope to buy, with a list of things you – or the recipient – are looking to observe, the budget and whether the observer is a beginner or more seasoned astronomer. This month, you’ll find the usual advice on what to observe, the kit you should be buying and honest reviews on the latest piece of equipment. But next issue – which marks our massive 150th – I’ll be compiling all of your queries to make sure that you’re never short of advice on choosing…

Ask any astronomer about the very beginnings of the universe and they’re likely to describe the Big Bang theory. Some 13.8 A billion years ago, the universe was born out of nothing in an explosion that unleashed the expanding dimensions of space and time, alongside vast amounts of energy. In the moments that followed, most of this energy transformed into the building blocks of matter – subatomic particles of varying mass and complexity that eventually came together to form simple atoms and then coalesced to create giant, short-lived stars and the nuclei of the first galaxies. There’s a wealth of evidence to show that the Big Bang theory is broadly correct. Even today the universe is still growing at tremendous speed, with widely separated galaxies and galaxy clusters being pulled…

A theorised massive particle called a dark photon could help shine a light on the secrets of dark matter, the universe’s most mysterious substance. Dark matter is currently a huge problem for physicists because, despite comprising as much as 85 per cent of the stuff in our universe, it remains effectively invisible. This is because dark matter doesn’t interact with light like the everyday matter that makes up stars, planets and even our bodies. Dark matter can only be inferred through its interactions with gravity and its influence on everyday matter. This strange lack of interplay with light, or electromagnetic radiation, also reveals that dark matter isn’t made up of atoms that are composed of particles like protons and neutrons. That fact has spurred scientists to search for particles that…

A steroid Bennu is a scientific gem, but a potentially dangerous one. No other space rock has A a higher known probability of hitting Earth in the next 200 years. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid-sampling mission will help scientists better understand how to protect humankind if Bennu’s trajectory were ever to intersect with that of our planet. Bennu, discovered in 1999, is a rare B-type asteroid that’s rich in carbon material believed to contain chemical compounds from the early epochs of the Solar System. On top of that, its orbit makes Bennu the most dangerous known asteroid in the Solar System. Bennu is large enough to cause significant destruction on Earth. If it hit us, the space rock would punch a crater several kilometres wide into the planet’s surface. The impact would…

For the last ten millennia, humanity has existed in a fine balance with Earth, with the actions of our species affecting aspects F of Earth’s system, such as climate and the existence of other forms of life, all of which also impact this finely tuned natural machine. Since the Industrial Revolution, however, humanity’s relationship with the Earth system has been skewed out of balance. As a species we put more waste back into the system than it can handle while simultaneously removing vital elements, such as habitats needed by other species, which simultaneously deletes these species with an intensity currently approaching that of mass extinctions previously experienced by our planet. Now, the first comprehensive ‘global health check’ has revealed that Earth and its life-support systems are “now well outside of…

1 Creating the magnetotail The magnetosphere is an area around our planet that is dominated by its magnetic field. It protects Earth from harmful levels of radiation from the Sun. When the solar wind collides with the magnetosphere, it’s deflected around the planet. This forms a lengthy tail. 2 The plasma sheet Trapped inside the magnetotail, which is about 1,000 times Earth’s radius, is the plasma sheet. It contains hot charged particles, including electrons. There are almost no solar wind protons inside the magnetotail 3 Orbiting Moon The Moon travels through the magnetotail and its plasma sheet. At this stage, it’s protected from the solar wind. Since water is still formed on the lunar surface within the magnetotail, it points to the possibility of new sources of water or formation…

Photos snapped by the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed the farthest ever example of an Einstein ring. The recordbreaking halo of warped light, which is a whopping 21 billion light years away, is unusually perfect and surrounds a mysteriously dense galaxy. An Einstein ring is an extremely rare type of gravitationally lensed object that was first predicted by Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. Gravitational lensing occurs when the immense gravity of a massive foreground object, such as a galaxy cluster or black hole, warps space-time around itself; light emitted by more distant objects, such as galaxies or supernovae, that passes through this warped space-time also appears curved and warped from our perspective on Earth. This effect also magnifies the light of the object being lensed, similar to how a…

TOP TIP! If you have binoculars you can see a surprising amount of detail on the Moon. They will show you its largest craters – huge holes blown out of its surface by the impact of asteroids millions or even billions of years ago. They will also show you its highest mountain ranges, some of which rival Earth’s most beautiful. But the most striking sights in binoculars are the Moon’s seas, or ‘mare’, which are not bodies of water, but huge, flat plains of ancient lava which flowed out of the Moon like the yolk of an egg and spread across its surface before freezing in the aftermath of enormous asteroid impacts which set the Moon ringing like a cosmic bell. One of the largest seas is Mare Imbrium, which…

Astronomers can now make the most of darker evenings. But having longer hours of darkness doesn’t merely give sky-watchers more time to become reacquainted with old favourites – it also offers the chance to seek out previously unexplored targets. If you’re a fan of splitting double stars with a telescope, head over to the constellation of Aries (the Ram), which can be found surrounded by Taurus (the Bull), Pisces (the Fishes) and Cetus (the Whale). In particular, binary star systems Lambda Arietis, Epsilon Arietis and Mesarthim are splendid targets to resolve for astronomers with medium to large instruments. WEST EAST North Pole Polaris M31 NORTHERN stronomers can now make the most of darker evenings. But having longer hours of darkness doesn’t merely give sky-watchers more time to become reacquainted with…

Watkins was born on 14 May 1988 in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Her family moved to Lafayette, Colorado, where she attended Fairview High School. After high school, Watkins enrolled at Stanford University in California, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in geological and environmental sciences. At Stanford, Watkins also played rugby, playing on national teams and even placing third at the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens with the USA Eagles. Watkins later earned a PhD in geology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She conducted undergraduate internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California, studying analogue Mars soil to support the Phoenix Mars lander mission. In 2017, Watkins was selected as part of NASA’s new astronaut candidate class. Her training lasted about two years and consisted of scientific and technical instruction…

18 September 2023 Intergalactic bridge connects a galactic smash-up A faint ‘bridge’ of gas connects two colliding galaxies in a new photo from the Hubble Space Telescope. The Arp 107 system includes a pair of galaxies that are in the process of merging. Located about 465 million light years from Earth, the galactic duo is connected by a tenuous stream of dust and gas. Hubble, a joint mission led by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), snapped this new view of Arp 107 using its Advanced Camera for Surveys. The larger galaxy, captured on the left of the image, boasts one large spiral arm that curves around the galactic core. Known as a Seyfert galaxy, this cosmic realm is home to an active galactic nucleus. “Seyfert galaxies are notable…

The bright galaxies found by the James Webb Space Telescope in the very early universe could be the product of bursts of massive star formation, and it’s likely that this renders the galaxies more luminous than expected for the era in which they exist. This is the conclusion drawn by researchers who used computer simulations to model how these galaxies formed and began producing stars. When Webb began science operations, its deep observations of the universe quickly began turning up high-redshift galaxies. These are galaxies that seemed to have existed earlier in the universe than astronomers had ever seen before. In fact, the galaxies, which were seen as they were when the universe was less than 400 million years old, appeared more luminous than predicted. This led to claims that…

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft will be able to keep exploring its exotic environs for at least another five years. The space agency announced on 29 September that it will keep New Horizons’ lights on while it’s still zooming through the Kuiper Belt, the expansive ring of icy bodies beyond Neptune’s orbit. “The New Horizons mission has a unique position in our Solar System to answer important questions about our heliosphere and provide extraordinary opportunities for multidisciplinary science for NASA and the scientific community,” Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, said. The heliosphere is the big bubble of magnetic fields and charged particles that the Sun blows around itself. Beyond it lies interstellar space. “The agency decided that it was best to extend operations for New…

Supermassive black holes may have a completely unexpected cosmic delivery service supplying them with gas and S dust to feast on. This could result in the cosmic titans feeding much faster than scientists had expected, gorging themselves over a period of months rather than hundreds or even thousands of years. Supermassive black holes with masses of millions or even billions of times that of the Sun are believed to dwell at the hearts of most galaxies, and when they’re surrounded by vast plates of gas and dust called accretion discs, they power quasars. These new findings about black hole feeding rates could help shed light on how these supermassive voids gobble up surrounding material and how that process influences the evolution of galaxies. The research is the result of high-resolution…

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid mission will map the geometry of matter in the universe – specifically in the form T of the distribution of galaxies – to learn more about the parts of the universe we can’t see: dark energy and dark matter. Euclid launched on 1 July at 15:12 (UTC) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission aims to chart 1.5 billion galaxies over the past 10 billion years of cosmic history over its expected six-year lifetime. WHERE DID EUCLID GO? It took roughly 30 days for Euclid to make its way to its destination at the L2 Lagrange point – the same location shared by several other spacecraft, including the James Webb Space Telescope. L2 lies about 1.5 million kilometres (930,000…

Across the world, one person fractures a bone every three seconds due to a disease called osteoporosis, a common condition that weakens the bones of at least 10 million people in the United States alone. And with the concept of crewed space missions to the Moon and Mars gaining momentum, scientists are actively looking for ways to protect astronauts from the inevitable consequences of long-term spaceflight, including sharp reductions in bone density. While most drugs used to treat osteoporosis work by slowing the disease, a new approach that targets the formation of new bone has shown promising results. Moreover, those results were achieved in mice during an experiment done on board the International Space Station (ISS). Researchers used a well-known protein produced by the body called neural epidermal growth factor-like…

In this issue... 80 What’s in the sky? The longer nights let you prepare more targets to get in your sights 82 Planetarium Where you can find the planets this month and the phases of the Moon 84 Month’s planets Venus continues to dazzle in the dawn sky as a bright spark of light 86 Moon tour These lunar peaks are worth exploring with a telescope 87 Naked eye and binocular targets The night sky is rich in pretty star clusters and bright, colourful stars 88 Deep sky challenge Track down some of winter’s lesser known wonders on the next clear and chilly night 90 The Northern Hemisphere Astronomers will need to wrap up warm to make the most of the winter sky 92 Review We put the Nikon Aculon…

1 Hyades cluster The Hyades is a distinctive V-shaped star cluster representing the shoulder of Taurus, the Bull. It’s only 142 light years away, contains between 300 and 400 stars and is easy to see with the naked eye. Dazzling brightred Aldebaran is not a cluster member, as it lies between us and the cluster. 2 Messier 35 Messier 35 is an open star cluster 3,000 light years away and more than 24 light years wide. It contains perhaps 3,200 stars, and although it can be seen as a tiny smudge to the naked eye, it is a striking sight in binoculars and most small telescopes. 3 Orion’s Belt One of the most famous patterns of stars in the entire sky, Orion’s Belt is made up of three blue-white stars…

DETAILS Cost: £59.99 / $69.95 From: Nikon Magnification: 8x Objective lens diameter: 21 millimetres Angular field of view: 6.3 degrees Eye relief: 10.3 millimetres Weight: 195 grams Additional kit: Carrying case and eyecup lens caps If you’re an observer who’s always on the go and you’re looking for a piece of kit that fits comfortably in your pocket, then the Nikon Aculon T02 8x21 is a great lightweight option, weighing in at a mere 195 grams. The Nikon Aculon T02 8x21 truly offers the ultimate portable experience, with dimensions that make it similar in size to a smartphone. What’s more, if you’re looking for a binocular that’s stylishly unique, then the Nikon Aculon T02 8x21 wins hands down in our opinion, as this model comes in a selection of colours:…

NASA has issued a request for ‘lunar freezer’ designs that can safely store materials taken from the Moon during planned Artemis missions. According to a request for information (RFI) posted to the federal contracting website sam.gov, the freezer’s primary use will be transporting scientific and geological samples from the Moon to Earth. These samples, the post specifies, will be ones collected during the Artemis program. The post also states that the lunar freezer could be used to store and transport “human biological and physiological samples collected during the missions,” presumably for analysing how spaceflight to the Moon affects astronauts. NASA writes that it wants the lunar freezer ready by the end of 2027 to be launched aboard its planned Artemis V mission. To make the long journey back to Earth…

Ideal for those who are just breaking into the hobby of astronomy or those looking to add to their existing kit for a fuss-free observing experience, the Olivon PC-3 10x56 binocular offers splendid views of the universe and wildlife. Featuring BaK4 prisms along with a silver coating, this rugged, easy-to-handle binocular delivers exceptionally crisp, clear and bright views of a selection of targets, from the surface of the Moon and the naked-eye planets to star clusters and bright nebulae. Equipped with a rubber coating and filled with nitrogen gas, the Olivon PC-3 10x56 is able to withstand observations in a variety of locations and weather conditions, making the binocular versatile and suitable for any occasion. To be in with a chance of winning, answer this question: In which constellation would…

EUROPA Europa is Jupiter’s fourth-largest moon and the smoothest of all the celestial bodies. There are almost no craters, and despite a dense network of cracks and ridges covering this moon, none are higher or deeper than a few hundred metres. This suggests that Europa’s surface is geologically young and possibly floating on a liquid mantle. The Hubble Space Telescope has also spotted plumes of water vapour spewing 200 kilometres (124 miles) into the air from the south pole. This lends weight to the idea that Europa has a subsurface saltwater ocean covered by a layer of ice that may be just a few kilometres thick in places. SIZE: 25 per cent the diameter of Earth DISTANCE FROM THE SUN: 4.9 to 5.4 astronomical units BIOLOGICAL POTENTIAL: Possible TYPE OF…

The Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile has photographed a planet orbiting a star in a multi-star system located some 480 light years from Earth. The exoplanet, 15 times more massive than our Solar System’s largest planet, Jupiter, orbits a small star that itself orbits a larger star. Also orbiting the larger star is a brown dwarf, or failed star. Brown dwarfs are given such a gloomy moniker because these objects aren’t massive enough to sustain nuclear fusion in their cores like typical stars, but are still too large to be called planets. The system of two stars and a brown dwarf, collectively called HIP 81208, has been known to astronomers for a long time. But the existence of an exoplanet in orbit around the smaller star came as a…

For decades, scientists have suspected that water ice exists on Earth’s Moon. Water is also known to be widely distributed – not just present in the permanently shadowed areas of our natural satellite, but in the sunlit parts too, as confirmed by NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) in 2020, which noted molecular water trapped in regolith grains. Granted, the amount of water is small – there’s actually 100 times more water in the Sahara Desert than there is in lunar soil. But that doesn’t make its presence any less significant. The fact it’s there at all is important enough. The big question is how it came to be there. Could the water have been carried by comets and asteroids? Was it shared by Earth? Scientists have spent years…

The material which fills the space between stars provides the raw materials for new stars to be born. It’s mostly hydrogen, some helium and a tiny amount of dust particles. Within the interstellar medium, there are clouds of varying densities that are rich in molecules like hydrogen and carbon monoxide. These molecularrich gas and dust clouds provide the ingredients that ultimately make up the building blocks of stars. In the densest regions of the interstellar medium, the core collapse of such a cloud can be triggered by a shock wave. These shock waves can be caused by a nearby supernova, by a collision with another molecular cloud or even by passing through the spiral arm of a galaxy, like our Milky Way. Such a shock wave can cause the rapid…

Venus is the second-closest planet to the Sun, and it alternates between being a morning and an evening star. All through this month it will be a dazzling morning star, rising well before the Sun and outshining everything else in the sky apart from the Moon. At the very start of the month it will be shining in the constellation of Leo, and far brighter than any of its stars, but by 4 November it will have drifted over into Virgo. Venus will rise more than four hours before the Sun, and will still be visible as a silvery-blue spark as the eastern sky begins to brighten with the approach of dawn. Between rising and slowly fading away, Venus will look like a beautiful lantern in the sky, drawing your…

1 2 Just as it’s easy for us to return to the same ‘celestial celebrities’ night after night during the summer months – the Ring Nebula, Messier 13 and Messier 51 all repeatedly drawing the eye away from other things – the deepsky observer’s winter comforts are the bright swirling clouds of the stunning Orion Nebula and the glittering spectacle of the Pleiades. But there are many other objects in the winter sky just as deserving of our attention. Given that November nights are often beautifully clear and cold, this is a good time to wrap up warm, head out and track down some of the objects that are often overlooked in favour of their brighter, brasher neighbours. While most amateur astronomers have heard of the Horsehead Nebula, very few…