Latest News

A still image from the animation of RAD J131346.9+500320.
Most powerful 'odd radio circle' to date is discovered
The most distant and most powerful 'odd radio circle' (ORC) known so far has been discovered by astronomers. These curious rings are a relatively new astronomical phenomenon, having been detected for the first time just six years ago. Only a handful...
World Space Week graphic, depicting someone looking up at the Moon.
Stargazing challenges and Moon live stream for World Space Week
This year's World Space Week is jam-packed with an array of fun activities – including a series of stargazing challenges for beginners and a live stream of the Moon's beautiful landscape. The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is hosting the stream on...
Composite image of RAS Open House 2025, including guided tours of the building (top right) and library (left).
'Awesome' Open House attracts big turnout
More than 350 people got to enjoy a special tour of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), mingle with bygone astronomers Caroline and John Herschel, and experience some entertaining science as an Open House day of celebration proved to be a big hit...
An artist's impression of NASA's IMAP.
UK tech launches on NASA's IMAP 'space weather station'
A "hugely exciting" spacecraft that will act like a weather station in space and features a British-built instrument has successfully launched into orbit. NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission will study the solar wind –...
Graphic promoting a call for applications for a new Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Geophysical Journal International.
Call for applications: Deputy Editor-in-Chief of GJI
Geophysical Journal International ( GJI) is one of the world's leading peer-reviewed research journals in solid-Earth geophysics and is seeking a new Deputy Editor-in-Chief to support the Editor-in-Chief (EiC), Dr Margarita Segou, with the journal...
Graphic featuring a front cover of RAS Techniques and Instruments alongside text which says the same and 'New addition to Web of Science'.
RASTI listed in Web of Science
The Royal Astronomical Society is pleased to announce that its journal RAS Techniques and Instruments (RASTI) has been included in the Clarivate Web of Science, Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). This is an important milestone because inclusion...
Members of the UK team for the 2025 astronomy Olympiad, including team leader Charlotte, an undergraduate at Brasenose College, Oxford, Puyuan, a Year 13 student at Eton College, Rory, a Year 13 student at Colchester Royal Grammar School, George B, a Year 13 student at Wallington County Grammar School, Yuvan, a Year 12 student at RGS Guildford, George D, a Year 13 student at the Stephen Perse Foundation, and team leader Ben, an undergraduate at Merton College, Oxford.
UK takes joint second place in astronomy Olympiad 2025
The United Kingdom placed joint second with India in this year's International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) after a team of five secondary level students all collected medals in the face of stiff competition from across the world...
Graphic promoting the RASTI Student Prize, with the OUP and RAS logos and text 'Student Author Prize' on a blue starry background.
RASTI launches new student prize
RAS Techniques and Instruments ( RASTI) is delighted to announce a new annual student prize for the 'best' paper published in the journal by a student scientist. The award is designed to celebrate and acknowledge the contribution of student authors...
This image, which combines infrared data from the James Webb Space Telescope with submillimetre observations from the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA), shows the doughnut-shaped torus and interconnected bubbles of dusty gas that surround the Butterfly Nebula’s central star. The torus is oriented vertically and nearly edge-on from our perspective, and it intersects with bubbles of gas enclosing the star. The bubbles appear bright red in this image, illuminated by the light from helium and
Cosmic butterfly reveals clues to Earth's creation
Clues about how worlds like Earth may have formed have been found buried at the heart of a spectacular 'cosmic butterfly'. With the help of the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers say they have made a big leap forward in our understanding of how...
Fresh twist to mystery of Jupiter's core
The mystery at Jupiter's heart has taken a fresh twist – as new research suggests a giant impact may not have been responsible for the formation of its core. It had been thought that a colossal collision with an early planet containing half of...
A&G Readers Survey 2025
Take part in A&G Readers Survey
The Royal Astronomical Society and Oxford University Press would like to invite Fellows to provide feedback on the Society's flagship bimonthly magazine, Astronomy & Geophysics (A&G). The brief, anonymous Readers Survey takes about seven minutes to...
Pictures from RAS Open House 2024 in the background, with a lock and key graphic and details of the date and times of RAS Open House 2025 in the foreground.
Guided tours and family fun at RAS Open House next month
The Royal Astronomical Society will once again be throwing open its doors as part of this year's Open House Festival in September. Guided tours of the Society's Burlington House HQ will take place alongside a number of fun-filled science activities...