Astronomy

Stargazers are being treated to a rare planetary alignment this month, also known as a “planet parade”, with most of the planets visible in the night sky at the same time.Astrophysicist Dr Rebecca Allen, co-director of Swinburne University’s space technology and industry institute, said it would be a rare opportunity to see so many planets align, especially outer ones such as Neptune.Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus would be the most conspicuous, especially around 21 January, although stargazers may also spot Neptune and Uranus lined up above the horizon with the help of binoculars or a good telescope.“They happen to all be in their orbits on the same side of our sun, within the same degrees in our sky, so that we can see them,” she said. “That is special.“Really it’s about perspective. All...

Just as the outline of an iron-age hut or remains of a Roman sword cause excitement today, archaeologists of the future could be brushing Martian dust off metal and marvelling at one of Nasa’s rovers.Researchers have said that such instruments, as well as other forms of human activity on Mars, including landing sites and debris, must be preserved as part of the archaeological record of space exploration.“All of this material, including the trackways and even discarded pieces of this equipment, represent the material record of our species’ first steps across our solar system,” said Dr Justin Holcomb, of the University of Kansas.Writing in the journal Nature Astronomy, Holcomb and colleagues say natural weathering, meteoroid impacts, unplanned crashes, flyovers or near-site landing events pu...