Announcements

The SDV tide gauge at Macau. A wall with very obvious water markings. Behind the wall are several buildings. Water beneath the wall and markings is dark and still.
Hunga Volcano special issue of GJI: analysis of tsunamis in Lingding Bay
The 2022 January 15 eruption of the Hunga volcano in Tonga caused tsunamis worldwide. A paper by Wang et al in the special issue of Geophysical Journal International (GJI) on the 2022 Hunga eruption highlights how atmospheric pressure waves created s…
A composite image made of two images. The image on the left is a 3D model of the Cat's Eye Nebula, a nebula made of tendrils of blue and light orange hued gas. The image on the left is an image of the Cat's Eye Nebula in 2D, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Cat’s Eye Nebula seen in 3D
Researchers have created the first computer-generated three-dimensional model of the Cat's Eye Nebula, revealing a pair of symmetric rings encircling the nebula’s outer shell. The rings’ symmetry suggests they were formed by a precessing jet, providi…
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second in March 2015
Statement on the death of Queen Elizabeth II
The Royal Astronomical Society offers its sincere condolences to His Majesty the King and the members of the Royal Family following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. We were very grateful to have her as our patron throughout her reign. The thoughts of…
An image of the Earth on the left hand side, accompanied by the RAS logo and text on the right hand side that reads "RAS Techniques and Instruments."
First paper published in RAS Techniques and Instruments
The first paper in our new open access journal, RAS Techniques and Instruments (RASTI), has now been published online: https://academic.oup.com/rasti/article/1/1/3/6651147 The paper, by Lugo-Aranda et al, describes a new code, PYHIIEXTRACTOR, which…
A side by side composite of a patient's back showing a few moles (right), and the same moles in white on a black background (left), looking like stellar objects.
MoleGazer: Applying astronomy ideas to mole identification
Scientists are applying astronomical techniques to identify moles that may develop into the skin cancer melanoma. Astronomers regularly take images of the sky, producing software to map set targets over time. This technology is now being adapted to m…
Image shows a grid of 35 different galaxies in ring like shapes, in faint blue colours.
Cyborg collaboration finds 40,000 ring galaxies
Human and machine intelligence worked together to find 40,000 ring galaxies, scientists at the National Astronomy Meeting will announce this week. Dr Mike Walmsley of the University of Manchester and the Galaxy Zoo collaboration will present the new…
Image of the Magellanic Cloud, a faint loosely bound galaxy in light blue colours.
Beyond the Clouds: Finding Galaxies Behind Galaxies
There are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the Universe, each containing billions of stars, and found in every part of the sky. But in some directions, nearby galaxies block the view of the more distant cosmos. Now a team from the University of Ke…
The image shows the Earth and Sun in space, with the Earth surrounded by purple hued radiation belts.
Space weather will delay your trains
Fluctuations in space weather are disrupting train signals and causing significant delays. A project investigating the effect of solar storms on railway signals will be presented this week at the National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2022) by Cameron Patte…
An image of Dr Rebecca Smethurst, aka Dr Becky, on a backdrop of a composite image of different nebulae and galaxies.
Beating the system: engaging the “unreachable” on social media
Social media platforms are a ubiquitous communication tool, with nearly two billion people using Facebook every day, for example. But these platforms curate their offer, with neural networks using algorithms to recommend content to their users, using…
A bright, white light in the middle of the image surrounded by red hued filament structures and clouds.
Rewinding a supernova with machine learning
New work looks at using machine learning to decipher the early stages of supernovae explosions by reconstructing the light emitted during the outburst. The research was presented today at the 2022 National Astronomy Meeting by Eleonora Parrag, a PhD…
Orange hued nebulous clouds of dust and gas against a blue starry backdrop.
Royal Astronomical Society congratulates JWST team on new images
Astronomers at the 2022 National Astronomy Meeting today celebrated the release of new images and data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), following the release of the very first image from the telescope by President Biden on 11 July. Togethe…
A large number of galaxies of different colours, shapes and sizes against the black backdrop of space. Galaxies in the middle of the image appear distorted due to gravitational lensing.
A message from the past: UK astronomers comment on the first JWST image
The first image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was revealed last night (11 July) by US president, Joe Biden. The image, of a galaxy cluster called SMACS 0723, showcases the faint, intricate structures of extremely distant galaxies in the…