Research Highlights

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...
An artist’s impression of the proposed VERVE mission to Venus the answer whether tiny bacterial lifeforms really do exist in the planet’s clouds.
Life on Venus? UK probe could reveal the answer
The answer to whether tiny bacterial lifeforms really do exist in the clouds of Venus could be revealed once-and-for-all by a UK-backed mission. Over the past five years researchers have detected the presence of two potential biomarkers – the gases...
The Mars mission that could prep for a human landing
If we're to land humans on Mars in the coming decades, we'll have to know what challenges await them when they get there. Enter M-MATISSE, a potential precursor to a crewed mission to the Red Planet which could use UK instrumentation being promoted...
An artist’s impression of what the UK-ODESSI space monitor could look like.
UK hopes to bolster space weather forecasts with Europe's first solar storm monitor
A new UK-led satellite mission concept aims to strengthen the country's position in space weather observation and forecasting by deploying a suite of homegrown scientific instruments on a low-cost spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. The proposal is being...
An artist’s impression of the UK-led CosmoCube spacecraft, which would orbit be tasked with listening out for an “ancient whisper” from the early universe on the far side of the Moon.
Probing the cosmic Dark Ages from the far side of the Moon
Astronomers want to unlock the secrets of the 'Cosmic Dawn' by sending a miniature spacecraft to listen out for an "ancient whisper" on the far side of the Moon. The proposed mission will study the very early universe, right after the Big Bang, when...
Artificial solar eclipses in space could shed light on Sun
Recreating artificial solar eclipses in space could help astronomers decipher the inner workings of our Sun much quicker than if they had to wait for the celestial show on Earth. The plan, part of a UK-led space mission to be unveiled at the Royal...
How airports like Heathrow and Gatwick could help aliens spot Earth
Radar systems used by civilian airports and military operations are inadvertently revealing our existence to potential advanced alien civilisations, new research shows. The study explored how hidden electromagnetic leakage might look to...
If we are located in a region with below-average density such as the green dot, then matter would flow away from us due to stronger gravity from the surrounding denser regions, as shown by the red arrows.
Is Earth inside a huge void? 'Sound of Big Bang' hints so
Earth and our entire Milky Way galaxy may sit inside a mysterious giant hole which makes the cosmos expand faster here than in neighbouring regions of the universe, astronomers say. Their theory is a potential solution to the 'Hubble tension' and...
An artist’s impression of dust and tiny grains in a protoplanetary disc surrounding a young star (left) alongside an e-MERLIN map showing the tilted disc structure around the young star DG Tauri (top right) and the HL Tau disc captured by e-MERLIN is shown overlaid on an ALMA image, revealing both the compact emission from the central region of the disc and the larger scale dust rings (bottom right).
The birth of a solar system revealed by planet 'pebbles'
A fascinating glimpse into how a solar system like our own is born has been revealed with the detection of planet-forming 'pebbles' around two young stars. These seeds to make new worlds are thought to gradually clump together over time, in much the...