Announcements

Artist's concept of the LiteBIRD mission in space
RAS welcomes UK joining LiteBIRD mission
The Royal Astronomical Society welcomes the UK Government decision to join the Japanese-led LiteBIRD mission, which will analyse the residual radiation from the Big Bang to determine whether the current model for the expansion of the Universe is corr…
RAS welcomes UK association to Horizon Europe and Copernicus
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) welcomes today’s announcement of a deal to secure UK association to Horizon Europe, the €95.5 bn (£82 bn) European Union scientific research initiative, and to enable full UK access to data from the Copernicus Ear…
Lord Rees of Ludlow
Lord Rees and Professor Michele Dougherty win Royal Society medals
The Royal Astronomical Society congratulates Lord Rees of Ludlow, who has been awarded the Royal Society Copley Medal, and Professor Michele Dougherty of Imperial College London, who has won the Bakerian Medal and Lecture. The Copley Medal was first…
Lancaster University interns win poster presentation for EDI summer project
Evie, Emily and Megan stand in front of their prize winning poster. Jim Wild Licence type None (RAS Media) Diversity officer, Sheila Kanani,…
Garry Hunt
RAS Fellows Garry Hunt and Guy Hurst receive national honours
Two Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society received awards in the first Birthday Honours announced by King Charles III. Professor Garry Hunt is made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to Space Science and Busines…
Professor Nick Kaiser
Professor Nick Kaiser, 1954-2023
The Royal Astronomical Society would like to express its deepest sympathy to the family, friends and colleagues of cosmologist Professor Nicholas (Nick) Kaiser, who has died at the age of 68. Kaiser began his study of astronomy at the University of…
Text reads "Caroline Herschel Prize Lectureship 2023." The RAS and Herschel Society logos are visible in the top right and left corners respectively.
2023 Caroline Herschel Prize Lectureship winner announced
The winner of the 2023 Caroline Herschel Prize Lectureship is Dr Marie Van de Sande! Dr Van de Sande is an astrochemist. She presently holds a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship at Leeds, and in September 2023 will move to become an Oort F…
Bullying and Harassment Report 2023
Bullying and Harassment in Astronomy and Geophysics - report and recommendations
  In Spring 2020, the RAS carried out a survey around bullying and harassment. The report summarises the experiences of bullying and harassment and related perceptions of workplace culture for astronomers, solar system scientists and geophysici…
Philip Sadler & Owen Gingerich fill up a sundial with water on the roof of the Harvard University Observatory, April 25, 1995.
Owen Gingerich FRAS, 1930-2023
The Royal Astronomical Society offers its condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Professor Owen Gingerich, who has died at the age of 93. Born in Iowa in the United States to a Mennonite Christian family, Gingerich grew up in Kansas. H…
RAS Logo
Vacancy: RAS Diversity Support Officer: fixed-term contract
The Royal Astronomical Society is looking for a fixed term Diversity Support Officer for nine months. Term: 9 months, 0.4 FTE, £125 per day, equivalent of c. £32k pro rata. The RAS, founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astrono…
Duncan Lorimer
RAS Fellow Duncan Lorimer shares Shaw Prize
Duncan Lorimer FRAS, Professor and Interim Chair of Physics and Astronomy and Associate Dean for Research at Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University is a joint recipient of the 2023 Shaw Prize in Astronomy, awarded for the dis…
Photo of Astronet Roadmap document
RAS welcomes Astronet roadmap for 12 years of European astronomy
Astronet is a network of European funding agencies and research organisations, working together on international strategic planning for astronomy. The network has now published a roadmap for European astronomy from 2022-2035. Teams of leading astron…