Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the asteroid Ceres – now considered a dwarf planet – on January 1, 1801. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/jan-1-1801-discovery-of-ceres…
Tag: uranus
Dark storm on Neptune changes direction, escapes deadly fate
Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe unusual weather on the planet Neptune, not observed until now. They saw a large, dark storm on Neptune unexpectedly changing direction, thereby saving itself from looming destruction and possibly producing a smaller companion storm. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/large-dark-storm-change-direction-neptune…
Moon, Mars, Uranus December 22 to 24
Uranus likely won’t be visible to the eye alone. But you’ll easily see red Mars near the moon on December 22, 23 and 24, 2020. Mars isn’t exactly blazing now. But it’s bright, and very red, still a stunning sight, high in the sky at nightfall. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-mars-uranus-december-22-24…
2019 LD2: A very interesting orbit-hopping comet
Prior to Comet 2019 LD2, discovered last year, astronomers had never witnessed a comet in the process of orbiting from being between Jupiter and Neptune to orbiting inside Jupiter’s orbit. Now … witness the power of gravity! Source: https://earthsky.org/space/comet-2019-ld2-transitioning-orbit-hopping-jupiter-family…
Did a 9th planet ‘escape’ billions of years ago ?
Scientists have found evidence to suggest that another world once existed between Uranus and Saturn. While much of the effort involved in tracking dow… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/341348/did-a-9th-planet-escape-billions-of-years-ago…
Watch for the moon and Mars
Use the moon to find the planet Mars on November 24, 25 and 26, 2020. Then use the planet Mars to find Mars and Uranus within the same binocular field in January 2021. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/watch-for-the-moon-and-mars…
November’s young moon and December’s Jupiter-Saturn conjunction
As darkness falls on November 18-21, 2020, use the moon to locate Jupiter and Saturn. Their conjunction will be December 21. Watch into December as these 2 giant worlds draw close! Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-jupiter-saturn-after-sunset…
NASA re-establishes contact with Voyager 2 spacecraft
On October 29, NASA re-established contact with its Voyager 2 spacecraft, after the probe was left flying solo for 7 months while repairs were made to the radio antenna in Australia used to control it. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/nasa-reestablishes-contact-with-voyager2-spacecraft-oct2020…
Lighting a path to find Planet Nine
The search for Planet Nine – a hypothesized 9th planet in our solar system – may come down to pinpointing the faintest orbital trails in an incredibly dark corner of space. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/lighting-path-to-find-planet-nine…
Super-Earth and sub-Neptune found orbiting a red dwarf star
Astronomers using a telescope in Mexico have found two more exoplanets – a super-Earth and a sub-Neptune – orbiting a red dwarf star 120 light-years from Earth. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/super-earth-sub-neptune-orbiting-red-dwarf-star-toi-1266…