Astronomy

In the years following the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have tallied over 1 trillion galaxies in the universe. But only one galaxy stands out as the most important nearby stellar island to our Milky Way — the magnificent Andromeda galaxy (Messier 31). It can be seen with the naked eye on a very clear autumn night as a faint cigar-shaped object roughly the apparent angular diameter of our Moon. Though the Milky Way and Andromeda formed billions of years ago, evidence shows they have very different evolutionary histories despite sharing the same cosmological neighbourhood. A century ago, Edwin Hubble first established that this so-called “spiral nebula” was actually very far outside our own Milky Way galaxy —at a distance of approximately 2.5 million light-years or r...

The hunt for aliens goes hand in hand with the hunt for habitable planets. Astronomers are on the hunt for exoplanets with atmospheric chemicals that could be a sign of an advanced civilisation. These chemicals, known as technosignatures are found on Earth and are the result of burning fossil fuels. A team of researchers have been exploring Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and whether they could detect them. Over the decades, researchers have developed a number of different ways to hunt for advanced civilisations. From scanning stars for abnormal radio signals or laser pulses to searching for evidence of water the techniques have so far returned no positive results. Initiatives like SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) have used some of the world’s most powerful radio...

Well, time moves on, into another year as we brace for (according to some) the most depressing month of the year. At least we get it over and done with and can enjoy the rest of the year – I am sure it will be a great one… However, January is my favourite month, with crisp cold days and a refreshing feeling after the indulgence of Christmas – anyone else starting back at the gym this month? Moving on, though, to less stressful things; looking at the night sky can be a great way to relax after the hard work of the week. Looking up at the stars can be a great way to practice mindfulness, especially as to let your eyes adjust to the dark and stargaze properly you must put away your phone! Some ways to do this: Mindful Stargazing – Mark Westmoquette Right from the start of the year...

Mercury in a transparent early-evening sky on 24 January 2021. Image: Martin Campbell. Mercury, the fast moving inner planet, passed through inferior conjunction between Earth and the Sun on 6 December and then heads rapidly west of the Sun to emerge into the pre-dawn twilight from around 13 December. Across a flat south-eastern horizon Mercury lies just over 5 degrees up from London at about 7.15am (7.49am and around a degree lower in Scotland), 40 minutes before sunrise. Mercury’s relative dimness, magnitude +1, at the start of this apparition, means a pair of binoculars may be needed to spot it. The elusive planet always reaches peak brightness at the end of morning apparitions. Of all the major planets, Mercury is the most troublesome to locate and difficult to observe, as, outside of...