Latest News

Visual impressions of the COLIBRE simulations
See and hear galaxies evolve from the dawn of the universe
The most realistic picture yet of how galaxies formed and then evolved from the beginning of time has been revealed in a suite of new and unique audiovisual simulations. This data, published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society...
An artist’s impression of the Milky Way, with two of its satellite galaxies – the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud – in the bottom left.
Galactic warming: The ‘car engine-like’ effect heating our Milky Way
Our Milky Way's halo of hot gas is warmer to the 'south' than the 'north' because of an internal combustion engine-like effect that is compressing the gas like a piston, a new study has found. Computer simulations reveal that the Large Magellanic...
A diagram depicting habitable zone boundaries across star type with rocky exoplanets from Bohl et al. (2026). The boundaries of the habitable zone shift based on star colour, since different wavelengths of light will heat a planet's atmosphere differently. 
The best places to look for alien life: Scientists identify 45 Earth-like worlds to explore for a 'Project Hail Mary'
If we're to find extraterrestrial life in the universe, astronomers have pinpointed the best places to look for it. They have identified just under 50 rocky worlds most likely to be habitable out of the more than 6,000 exoplanets discovered so far...
This image was taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft on 1 January 2019 during a flyby of Kuiper belt object 2014 MU69, known as Arrokoth.
Why some objects in space look like snowmen
Astronomers have long debated why so many icy objects in the outer solar system look like snowmen. Now, thanks to a new computer simulation in a research paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Michigan State University...
An artist’s impression of the stellar dimming event caused by a brown dwarf or super-Jupiter with massive rings (foreground) forming an opaque “saucer” through which some light from the star ASASSN-24fw (background) shines.
Unseen planet or brown dwarf may have hidden 'rare' fading star
One of the longest stellar dimming events ever observed was likely caused by the gigantic saucer-like rings of either an unseen brown dwarf or 'super-Jupiter' blocking its host star's light, astronomers say. For decades the star – which sits 3,200...
Artistic representation of the Milky Way, where the innermost stars move at near relativistic speeds around a dense core of dark matter.
'Dark matter, not a black hole, could power Milky Way's heart'
Our Milky Way galaxy may not have a supermassive black hole at its centre but rather an enormous clump of mysterious dark matter exerting the same gravitational influence, astronomers say. They believe this invisible substance – which makes up most...
A composite RGB image of the Ring Nebula (also known as Messier 57 and NGC 6720) constructed from four WEAVE/LIFU emission-line images.
Mysterious iron 'bar' discovered in famous nebula
A mysterious bar-shaped cloud of iron has been discovered inside the iconic Ring Nebula by a European team led by astronomers at University College London (UCL) and Cardiff University. The cloud of iron atoms, described for the first time in Monthly...
This LOFAR DR2 image of J1007+3540 superimposed over an optical image by Pan-STARRS shows a compact, bright inner jet, indicating the reawakening of what had been a ‘sleeping’ supermassive black hole at the heart of the gigantic radio galaxy.
'Reborn' black hole spotted 'erupting like cosmic volcano'
One of the most vivid portraits of “reborn” black hole activity – likened to the eruption of a “cosmic volcano” spreading almost one million light-years across space – has been captured in a gigantic radio galaxy. The dramatic scene was uncovered...
The Royal Astronomical Society is commemorating the 350th anniversary of the Royal Observatory Greenwich with the launch of a special collection and booklet titled 'Band of Brothers: The entwined histories of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and Royal Astronomical Society’ (left). It has been put together by Dr Louise Devoy (inset), Senior Curator at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, and features a section on the first 10 Astronomers Royal who lived and worked at Greenwich, including Harold Spencer Jones an
Royal Observatory's 350th anniversary commemorated with special collection
The Royal Astronomical Society is celebrating the 350th anniversary of the Royal Observatory Greenwich by highlighting the long standing links between the two institutions. To mark the occasion, the Society is today launching a special collection and...
An artist’s impression of a bright quasar almost outshining its host galaxy.
Astronomers challenge 50-year-old quasar law
Compelling evidence that the structure of matter surrounding supermassive black holes has changed over cosmic time has been uncovered by an international team of astronomers. If true, the research led by the National Observatory of Athens and...
Reflected light image of a thin section of carbonaceous chondrite CV3 from NASA's Antarctic collection, analysed in the study. Several chondrules with bright olivine crystals embedded in a carbonaceous matrix can be seen.
Mining asteroids for water and metals explored
The potential for space mining – including identifying asteroids close to Mars and Jupiter best suited for extracting precious metals and water – has been explored in a new study. Research published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical...
This image shows the gas disc in a computer simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy from the Auriga suite.
New study sheds light on Milky Way's mysterious chemical history
Clues about how galaxies like our Milky Way form and evolve and why their stars show surprising chemical patterns have been revealed by a new study. The research, published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, explores the...