Research Highlights

Glowing deep red from the distant past, the galaxy Y1 shines because of dust grains heated by newly-formed stars (circled in this image from the James Webb Space Telescope).
Superheated star factory is discovered in early universe
The discovery of a superheated star factory that forms stars 180 times faster than our own Milky Way could help solve a long-standing puzzle about how galaxies grew so quickly in the early universe. Astronomers uncovered the previously unknown...
Type Ia supernova SN1994d pictured in its host galaxy NGC4526.
Universe's expansion 'is now slowing, not speeding up'
The universe's expansion may actually have started to slow rather than accelerating at an ever-increasing rate as previously thought, a new study suggests. "Remarkable" findings published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society...
This artist’s impression depicts a dying Sun-like star engulfing an exoplanet. New research published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society suggests that ageing stars may be destroying the giant planets orbiting closest to them.
Ageing stars may be destroying their closest planets
Ageing stars may be destroying the giant planets orbiting closest to them, new research shows – offering a glimpse into the possible fate of the likes of Jupiter and Saturn in our own solar system. Once stars like the Sun run out of hydrogen fuel...
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...
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...
An artist's impression of the UPM J1040−3551 system against the backdrop of the Milky Way as observed by Gaia.
Rare quadruple star system could unlock mystery of brown dwarfs
The "exciting" discovery of an extremely rare quadruple star system could significantly advance our understanding of brown dwarfs, astronomers say. These mysterious objects are too big to be considered a planet but also too small to be a star because...
The newly discovered ultramassive blackhole lies at the centre of the orange galaxy. Far behind it is a blue galaxy that is being warped into the horseshoe shaped ring by distortions in spacetime created by the immense mass of the foreground orange galaxy.
'Most massive black hole ever discovered' is detected
Astronomers have discovered potentially the most massive black hole ever detected. The cosmic behemoth is close to the theoretical upper limit of what is possible in the universe and is 10,000 times heavier than the black hole at the centre of our...
Top view of the Milky Way galaxy showing the estimated orbits of both our Sun and the 3I/ATLAS comet.
Newly discovered interstellar object 'may be oldest comet ever seen'
A mystery interstellar object discovered last week is likely to be the oldest comet ever seen – possibly predating our solar system by more than three billion years, researchers say. The "water ice-rich" visitor, named 3I/ATLAS, is only the third...
The dark matter distribution of a Milky Way mass halo in a Lambda-cold dark matter (LCDM) cosmological simulation.
The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought
The Milky Way could have many more satellite galaxies than scientists have previously been able to predict or observe, according to new research. Cosmologists at Durham University used a new technique combining the highest-resolution supercomputer...
Numbers of staff and postgraduate students in astronomy, solar system science and geophysics in the 2023, 2016 and 2010 surveys.
Astronomy and geophysics 'still overwhelmingly white'
Women and ethnic minority groups are still significantly underrepresented in astronomy and geophysics despite attempts to bring about change over the past decade, research has shown. The survey, carried out by the Royal Astronomical Society and...
Colour image of a flat top, heavily eroded FSR. Sand dunes can be seen migrating over the top of the FSR.
Ancient river systems reveal Mars was wetter than we thought
The discovery of more than 15,000 kilometres of ancient riverbeds on Mars suggests that the Red Planet may once have been much wetter than previously thought. Researchers looked at fluvial sinuous ridges, also known as inverted channels, across...