Submit a letter to the Your Views page.| astronomynow.com
There’s a ‘new’ star in the constellation of Centaurus. A nova dramatically appeared on 22 September, discovered by John Seach of Grafton, Australia.| Astronomy Now
by Astronomy Now Editor, Stuart Clark| astronomynow.com
Astronomers have seen tentative evidence for an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1e, a rocky planet 40 light years away.| astronomynow.com
An artist’s impression of the Earth-size exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e, depicted at the lower right, is silhouetted as it passes in front of its host star. Scientists call this event a transit. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Olmsted (STScI).Astronomers have seen tentative evidence for an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1e, an Earth-sized rocky planet 40 light years away.| astronomynow.com
By Ian Whitely, chair of the Save Herstmonceux Observatory campaign Since the September issue of Astronomy Now went to press, we’ve heard that the lease to the Observatory Science Centre (OSC), Herstmonceux has been extended for 10 years. The announcement, on 18 August, follows a year of uncertainty after Queen’s University Canada declared that the lease to the current operators of the science centre, Science Projects, would not be renewed after December 2026. Now, a ten-year extended lea...| Astronomy Now
Get ready for a clash of the titans when Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets in our Solar System, come together for a dazzling event visible across the length and breadth of the UK. By Astronomy Now’s Night Sky manager Mark Armstrong.| astronomynow.com
August means the Perseids: the annual shooting star spectacular reaches its peak to wow meteor enthusiasts with abundant bright events, writes Astronomy Now's Night Sky manager Mark Armstrong.| Astronomy Now
Planets without stars may not be so lonely after all. New research led by astronomers at the University of St Andrews suggests that free-floating giant planets—those adrift in interstellar space—can host their own miniature planetary systems.| Astronomy Now
Professor Michele Dougherty in the lab at Imperial College. Credit: Imperial College.His Majesty The King has approved Professor Michele Dougherty as the new Astronomer Royal. Professor Dougherty will be the sixteenth person and the first woman to hold this role since its creation 350 years ago. The previous Astronomer Royal, Professor Lord Martin Rees, is retiring from the position.| astronomynow.com
Steven Young (right) symbolically hands over Astronomy Now to Stuart Clark. Credit: Neil Monaghan.| astronomynow.com
These pocket-sized binoculars transport the observer into a sea of stars covering a wide expanse of space.| Astronomy Now