Announcements

Astronomers and Space Scientists Win National Honours
The Royal Astronomical Society is delighted that four astronomy and space experts were recognised in this year’s New Year Honours list. Professor Gillian Wright receives the award Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in recognition of…
Update on the RAS and JWST
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) recently wrote to the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA to express its concerns about the original JWST naming process, the apparent failure to investigate James Webb’s background and the d…
Three quarters of major observatories affected by light pollution
Researchers from Italy, Chile and Galicia have studied and compared the light pollution levels at major astronomical observatories across the world. The study shows that light is polluting the sky above most observatories and that immediate action is…
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, 1943-2022
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
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…