12 August 2009 by Anil Ananthaswamy Located on a mountain top on the Canary island of La Palma, the Major Atmospheric Gamma-Ray Imaging Cherenkov Telescope (MAGIC) is a system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, or IACTs. ON THE night of 30 June 2005, the sky high above La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands crackled with …
This illustration shows the size of a large, nearly invisible ring around Saturn (enlarged in this representation) that was detected by its infrared glow by the Spitzer Space Telescope (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Keck) A colossal ring of debris found around Saturn is the largest in the solar system. The new ring could be the ‘smoking gun’ that …
Largest ring in solar system found around Saturn – New Scientist Read More »
The MONET South telescope at Sutherland ASTRONOMY EDUCATION BREAKTHROUGH FOR HERMANUS Hermanus experienced an Astronomy Awareness and Education breakthrough which was a first not only for South Africa, but for Africa, on Sunday 3rd October 2010. Science teachers and learners from Hermanus High School and Qhayiya Secondary School, as well as members of the Hermanus …
Something has smashed into Jupiter, leaving behind a black spot in the planet’s atmosphere, scientists confirmed on Monday. This is only the second time such an impact has been observed. The first was almost exactly 15 years ago, when more than 20 fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with the gas giant. “This has all …
This illustration shows one possible path that the comet Kushida-Muramatsu took around Jupiter (located at centre of axes) (Illustration: Ohtsuka/Asher) The planet Jupiter seems to be as promiscuous as its Olympian namesake. New calculations reveal that in the middle of the last century it had a fling with a wayward comet, which for 12 years …
