5 Mercury Secrets Revealed by MESSENGER

on 2013/03/19 in Articles, Astronomy

After two years of doing the loop-the-loop around Mercury, MESSENGER has unveiled a bunch of surprises from Mercury — the closest planet to the Sun.

The spacecraft launched in 2004 and made three flybys of the planet before settling into orbit two years ago today. Incredibly, MESSENGER is only the second NASA probe to visit Mercury; the first one, Mariner 10, only flew by a few times in the 1970s. It was an incredible feat for the time, but we didn’t even have a complete map of Mercury before MESSENGER arrived at the planet.

So, what have scientists found in MESSENGER’s two years in orbit? Tales of sulfur, organic materials and iron, it turns out.

BLACK HOLE-STAR PAIR ORBITING AT DIZZYING SPEED

on in Articles, Astronomy

ESA’s XMM-Newton space telescope has helped to identify a star and a black hole that orbit each other at the dizzying rate of once every 2.4 hours, smashing the previous record by nearly an hour.

The black hole in this compact pairing, known as MAXI J1659-152, is at least three times more massive than the Sun, while its red dwarf companion star has a mass only 20% that of the Sun. The pair is separated by roughly a million kilometres.

What Glows Green In Space?

on in Articles, Astronomy

While a quest for green beer in space would be difficult, we’re happy to report there are other ways you can celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day while looking at the night sky. Just check out the nebulae and aurorae in these pictures!