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| BepiColombo Mercury mission to be launched in 2015 |
| BepiColombo, an ESA mission to the planet Mercury in collaboration with the Japanese space agency, JAXA, is now planned for launch in a window opening in August 2015. |
| Date: 28 Feb 2012 |
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| XMM-Newton measures the power of black-hole driven outflows in galaxies |
| Astronomers using ESA's XMM-Newton X-ray Observatory have discovered that ultra-fast outflows are quite common in active galaxies. About 40 per cent of the sources in their sample show outflows that arise from the vicinity of the central black holes. By estimating the mass and energy released by the outflows, the astronomers have identified them as major agents in the feedback processes required by models of galactic evolution to explain the observed correlation between the mass of black holes and the stellar content of their host galaxies. |
| Date: 27 Feb 2012 |
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| Hubble reveals a new class of extrasolar planet [heic1204] |
| Observations by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have come up with a new class of planet, a waterworld enshrouded by a thick, steamy atmosphere. It's smaller than Uranus but larger than Earth. |
| Date: 21 Feb 2012 |
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| Hubble finds relic of a shredded galaxy [heic1203] |
| Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have found a cluster of young blue stars surrounding a mid-sized black hole called HLX-1. The discovery suggests that the black hole formed in the core of a now-disintegrated dwarf galaxy. The findings have important implications for understanding the evolution of supermassive black holes and galaxies. |
| Date: 15 Feb 2012 |
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| Announcement of Opportunity for an Independent Legacy Scientist in the Euclid Science Team |
| The scientific community is invited to participate in the Euclid mission by responding to the present Announcement of Opportunity (AO). This AO solicits proposals for the appointment of the second Independent Legacy Scientist in the Euclid Science Team. The deadline for submission of proposals is 12 April 2012, 12:00 CET. |
| Date: 15 Feb 2012 |
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| Return to full science operations |
| Following a permanent anomaly affecting the onboard solid-state mass memory system on Mars Express, efforts to implement a work-around are almost complete. Full science operations have been resumed and the potential mission lifetime remains unaltered. |
| Date: 15 Feb 2012 |
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| New Planck maps reveal unseen details across the Milky Way |
| An unambiguous detection of the Galactic Haze - a mysterious, diffuse emission from the central portion of the Milky Way - and the first all-sky map of carbon monoxide, whose emission traces the molecular clouds where stars are born, are among the results being presented by the Planck Collaboration at an international conference held from 13 to 17 February 2012, in Bologna, Italy. These results have been achieved during the complex task of identifying and removing the foreground contamination due to Galactic and extragalactic emission that obscures the Cosmic Microwave Background. |
| Date: 13 Feb 2012 |
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| Could Venus be shifting gear? |
| ESA's Venus Express spacecraft has discovered that our cloud-covered neighbour spins a little slower than previously measured. Peering through the dense atmosphere in the infrared, the orbiter found surface features were not quite where they should be. |
| Date: 10 Feb 2012 |
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| 1st International Announcement of Opportunity for HAYABUSA Sample Investigation |
| JAXA has released the 1st International Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for HAYABUSA Sample Investigations. The AO is open to the global scientific community, so proposals are also welcomed from European investigators. |
| Date: 09 Feb 2012 |
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| Mars radar finds possible ocean sediments |
| The MARSIS radar instrument on board ESA's Mars Express orbiter has discovered a subsurface blanket of low density material around the north polar cap, supporting theories that the northern lowlands of Mars were once covered by a large body of water. |
| Date: 06 Feb 2012 |
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| Classic portrait of a barred spiral galaxy [heic1202] |
| The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken a picture of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1073, which is found in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster). Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is a similar barred spiral, and the study of galaxies such as NGC 1073 helps astronomers learn more about our celestial home. |
| Date: 03 Feb 2012 |
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