Journal News

WEAVE data overlaid on a James Webb Space Telescope image of Stephan's Quintet, with green contours showing radio data from LOFAR.
2 MILLION mph galaxy smash-up seen in unprecedented detail
A massive collision of galaxies sparked by one travelling at a scarcely-believable 2 million mph (3.2 million km/h) has been seen in unprecedented detail by one of Earth's most powerful telescopes. The dramatic impact was observed in Stephan's Quint…
Amount of stars (white) produced in universes with different dark energy densities. Clockwise, from top left, no dark energy, same dark energy density as in our Universe, 10 and 30 times the dark energy density in our Universe.
A formula for life? New model calculates chances of intelligent beings in our Universe and beyond
The chances of intelligent life emerging in our Universe – and in any hypothetical ones beyond it – can be estimated by a new theoretical model which has echoes of the famous Drake Equation. This was the formula that American astronomer Dr Frank Dra…
Radio image of Sagittarius A* in the centre of the Milky Way galaxy.
First picture of Milky Way black hole ‘may not be accurate’
drupal-media[data-view-mode=half_page_width] { display: inline-block; width: 50%; } The first picture of the supermassive black hole at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy may not be a true reflection of its appearance, new research suggest…
The newly-discovered GS-NDG-9422 galaxy appears as a faint blur in this James Webb Space Telescope NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image.
Webb discovers 'weird' galaxy with gas outshining its stars
The discovery of a "weird" and unprecedented galaxy in the early Universe could "help us understand how the cosmic story began", astronomers say. GS-NDG-9422 (9422) was found approximately one billion years after the Big Bang and stood out because…
Gamma-ray bursts (like the one depicted in this artist’s impression) are the most violent explosions in the Universe, releasing more energy than the Sun would in 10 billion years.
Huge gamma-ray burst collection ‘rivals 250-year-old Messier catalogue’
Hundreds of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been recorded as part of an enormous global effort so extensive it "rivals the catalogue of deep-sky objects created by Messier 250 years ago", astronomers say. GRBs are the most violent explosions in the U…
Job vacancy: Managing Editor
Job title Managing Editor Salary Circa £50k per annum Reporting chain Heads of Publishing; Executive Director Job summary The Managing Editor (ME) is responsible for supporting the Heads of Publishing in the publication of the international jo…
An artist’s impression of the nearest brown dwarf to Earth.
Scorching storms on distant worlds revealed in new detail
Astronomers have created the most detailed weather report so far for two distant worlds beyond our own solar system. The international study – the first of its kind – reveals the extreme atmospheric conditions on the celestial objects, which are swa…
Simulation of a galaxy’s ‘heart and lungs’ at work inset on an artist's impression of bi-polar jets of gas originating from a supermassive black hole at the centre of a galaxy.
How the 'heart and lungs' of a galaxy extend its life
Galaxies avoid an early death because they have a "heart and lungs" which effectively regulate their "breathing" and prevent them growing out of control, a new study suggests. If they didn't, the Universe would have aged much faster than it has and…
MNRAS Student Prize information
MNRAS Student Prize
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS) is delighted to announce a new annual student prize for the best paper published in the journal by a student scientist. The winner will receive a cash prize and a certificate of recogni…
An artist's impression of the newly-discovered, Earth-like exoplanet Gliese 12 b.
Rare 'exo-Venus' with Earth-like temperature discovered
Astronomers have made the rare and tantalising discovery of an Earth-like exoplanet 40 light-years away that may be just a little warmer than our own world. The potentially-habitable planet, named Gliese 12 b, orbits its host star every 12.8 days, i…
Artwork showing debris around a white dwarf star.
‘Swallowed’, torn up or live on: How Earth will fare when the Sun dies
Our solar system and everything within it - including the Earth - will look very different when the Sun dies. But whether the planet we call home is “swallowed” up by our dying star or manages to escape its clutches, only time will tell. The inner…
Dr Margarita Segou
Trailblazing seismologist named new editor-in-chief of GJI
A globally-renowned seismologist who has studied every major earthquake of the past 35 years has been appointed editor-in-chief of Geophysical Journal International (GJI), one of the world's leading peer-reviewed research journals in solid-Earth geop…