Announcements

A section of the night sky showing the constellation of Orion, the Moon, Mars, and the Hyades star cluster. The Moon and Mars appear next to eachother and above Orion, with the Hyades cluster to the bottom right of Mars and just above and to the right of Orion.
Mars shines high in UK skies
In the first part of December northern hemisphere observers will enjoy their best view of Mars until the 2030s. The red planet will be high in UK skies and will appear brighter than any star. Mars is often described as the solar system planet most l…
Professor Jay Pasachoff
Professor Jay Pasachoff, 1946-2022
The Royal Astronomical Society offers its condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the astronomer Professor Jay Pasachoff, who has died at the age of 79. Pasachoff began his career at Harvard, receiving his doctorate there in 1969, befor…
Professor Tom Marsh of the University of Warwick
Professor Tom Marsh
The Royal Astronomical Society is saddened to learn of the tragic death of Professor Tom Marsh of the University of Warwick, whose body has been found near the European Southern Observatory in Chile. Professor Marsh worked in astronomy for four deca…
A yellow gold hued spiral galaxy against the blue-black backdrop of space.
Research unveils birthplace of gold-rich stars
A team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame and Tohoku University have revealed the birthplace of so-called ‘gold-rich’ stars – stars with an abundance of heavy elements beyond iron, including the "jewellery store elements", gold and plat…
This image depicts bright blue newly formed stars that are blowing a cavity in the centre of a fascinating star-forming region known as N90 with text written over it stating, "Congratulations to our February winners!"
RAS E&O February 2022 Small Grants Winners
  Congratulations to the following winners from February's round of Education and Outreach small grant scheme applicants: Dr Vasileios Spathopoulos - The Antikythera Mechanism: Using an ancient computer to teach basic astronomy concepts Mrs Trac…
RAS Logo
The RAS and JWST
At its meeting in July the governing council of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) took a decision to write to the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA to express its concerns about the original JWST naming process, the apparen…
Three large blobs against the black backdrop of space. The one on the left is yellow, the middle is hot pink and shaped like a mushroom, and the one on the right is also yellow. The yellow blobs are galaxies and the pink is the radio jet being emitted from RAD12.
Black hole discovered firing jet at neighbouring galaxy
With the help of citizen scientists, a team of astronomers has discovered a unique black hole spewing a fiery jet at another galaxy. The black hole is hosted by a galaxy around one billion light years away from Earth named RAD12. The work was publish…
a large orange star is seen exploding, with layers of orange fiery looking material being blown outwards as well as rays of high energy.
Red Alert: massive stars sound warning they are about to go supernova
Astronomers from Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Montpellier have devised an ‘early warning’ system to sound the alert when a massive star is about to end its life in a supernova explosion. The work was published in Monthly Not…
A world map scattered with different coloured circles. The circles are blue, orange and green and appear translucent against the map.
Hunga Volcano special issue of GJI: connection between atmosphere and Earth
A paper accepted for the special issue of Geophysical Journal International (GJI) on the 2022 January 15 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano examines the connection between the atmosphere and the solid Earth highlighted by this event.…
The SDV tide gauge at Macau. A wall with very obvious water markings. Behind the wall are several buildings. Water beneath the wall and markings is dark and still.
Hunga Volcano special issue of GJI: analysis of tsunamis in Lingding Bay
The 2022 January 15 eruption of the Hunga volcano in Tonga caused tsunamis worldwide. A paper by Wang et al in the special issue of Geophysical Journal International (GJI) on the 2022 Hunga eruption highlights how atmospheric pressure waves created s…
A composite image made of two images. The image on the left is a 3D model of the Cat's Eye Nebula, a nebula made of tendrils of blue and light orange hued gas. The image on the left is an image of the Cat's Eye Nebula in 2D, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Cat’s Eye Nebula seen in 3D
Researchers have created the first computer-generated three-dimensional model of the Cat's Eye Nebula, revealing a pair of symmetric rings encircling the nebula’s outer shell. The rings’ symmetry suggests they were formed by a precessing jet, providi…
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second in March 2015
Statement on the death of Queen Elizabeth II
The Royal Astronomical Society offers its sincere condolences to His Majesty the King and the members of the Royal Family following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. We were very grateful to have her as our patron throughout her reign. The thoughts of…