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A bright white galaxy that is round in shape, glowing against the darkness of space.
The last breaths of massive galaxies
A team of astronomers propose a scenario in which galaxies with active cores may undergo a period of rapid star birth before shutting down completely. The research, conducted by astronomers from the University of Southampton, the Institute of...
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New RAS journal invites submissions and reviewers
The new open access RAS journal, RAS Techniques and Instruments (RASTI) , is set to open for submissions in November 2021, and invites the astronomy and geoscience communities to make submissions from next month. RAS Techniques and Instruments is a...
Cutaway of a star showing an artist's impression of a spinning yellow core
Magnetic fields implicated in the mysterious midlife crisis of stars
Middle-aged stars can experience their own kind of midlife crisis, experiencing dramatic breaks in their activity and rotation rates at about the same age as our Sun, according to new research published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal...
RAS launches new multi-disciplinary journal
The Royal Astronomical Society is pleased to announce the launch of its first new journal in almost 100 years. Tentatively titled RAS Techniques and Instruments, it will cover topics in astronomy and geophysics ranging from instrumentation, data...
An illustration of material being ejected from the Sun (left) interacting with the magnetosphere of the Earth (right)
Planetary Shields Will Buckle Under Stellar Winds From Their Dying Stars
Any life identified on planets orbiting white dwarf stars almost certainly evolved after the star’s death, says a new study led by the University of Warwick that reveals the consequences of the intense and furious stellar winds that will batter a...
Artist's impression of a free-floating planet
Kepler telescope glimpses population of free-floating planets
Tantalising evidence has been uncovered for a mysterious population of “free-floating” planets, planets that may be alone in deep space, unbound to any host star. The results include four new discoveries that are consistent with planets of similar...
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New observations of the most distant galaxies close in on cosmic dawn
New observations of six of the most distant galaxies currently known have helped to pinpoint the moment of first light in the Universe, known as ‘cosmic dawn’. The new work is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and puts a...
Side-by-side artist's impressions of Kepler 422-b and Earth
Earth-like biospheres on other planets may be rare
A new analysis of known exoplanets has revealed that Earth-like conditions on potentially habitable planets may be much rarer than previously thought. The work focuses on the conditions required for oxygen-based photosynthesis to develop on a planet...
Artist's impression of a small blue star accreting material from its much larger yellow binary companion
Mysterious hydrogen-free supernova sheds light on stars’ violent death throes
A curiously yellow pre-supernova star has caused astrophysicists to re-evaluate what’s possible at the deaths of our Universe’s most massive stars. The team describe the peculiar star and its resulting supernova in a new study published today in...
Trails caused by the fifth deployment of satellites making up the Starlink constellation.
Satellites contribute significant light pollution to night skies
Scientists reported new research results today suggesting that artificial objects in orbit around the Earth are brightening night skies on our planet significantly more than previously understood. The research, accepted for publication in Monthly...
Image of a spiral galaxy surrounded by a blue cloud representing the dark matter halo
New study suggests supermassive black holes could form from dark matter
A new theoretical study has proposed a novel mechanism for the creation of supermassive black holes from dark matter. The international team find that rather than the conventional formation scenarios involving ‘normal’ matter, supermassive black...
Two views of a 3D reconstruction of the Crab nebula
Spectacular ‘honeycomb heart’ revealed in iconic stellar explosion
A unique ‘heart-shape’, with wisps of gas filaments showing an intricate honeycomb-like arrangement, has been discovered at the centre of the iconic supernova remnant, the Crab Nebula. Astronomers have mapped the void in unprecedented detail...