A brief roundup of the latest astronomy news
Bombarding Venus
The asteroids which impacted early Venus were, on average, travelling much faster than those that hit Earth, according to recent simulations. These probably blasted away our sister planet’s atmosphere and released volatile gases into the air, potentially explaining the hellish environment of Venus today.
Black hole duet
ESO’s Very Large Telescope has discovered the closest pair of supermassive black holes to Earth to date.The two are a mere 89 million lightyears from Earth (the previous record was 470 million), with one weighing in at 154 million solar masses, while the other is just 6.3 million.
Next-Gen asteroid hunting
NASA released Sentry-II, a next generation tool that can accurately and rapidly calculate the impact probability of near-Earth objects (NEOs), in December 2021. The update helps keep pace with the rising number of NEOs being discovered by surveys – around 3,000 every year.
Leonard brightens
Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard surged in brightness on 20 December 2021, jumping from mag. +5.0 to mag. +2.0. The brightening could be a sign the comet will break up on its approach to perihelion on 3 January 2022, though at the time of writing the comet was still whole.
Water stored in clay?
Mars’s missing water could be locked up in a clay mineral called smectite, which traps water in its structure. A recent batch of lab experiments found the mineral could form stable beds up to 30km thick, much deeper than previously thought and capable of holding a huge amount of water.
ALMA due for an upgrade
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is getting a multi-million dollar upgrade to its 1.3mm receiver – its most scientifically productive. This will increase the instrument’s wavelength coverage and sensitivity.
A prototype of the receiver is expected by 2026.