Journal News

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…
A silhouette of a skygazer against a green-hued night sky, with the Milky Way visible.
Hidden gems from 1926 found in Geophysical journal archive
Hidden treasures can be found in the archive of the Geophysical Supplement to the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (1922-1957) including, for example, detailed observations of a meteor which descended over Yorkshire in 1926. In the…
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…
Image shows the surface of a rocky planet in the foreground in the lower half of the picture, a starry sky above with a red dwarf star. Material from the star is being pulled on to a small white dwarf star in a curving path.
A New Method to Detect Exoplanets
In recent years, a large number of exoplanets have been found around single ‘normal’ stars. New research shows that there may be exceptions to this trend. Researchers from the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL), the National Autonomous Univer…
Front cover of RAS Techniques and Instruments
RAS Techniques and Instruments Editorial Volume 1, Issue 1
Co-authored by Editor-in-Chief, Jonathan Tennyson and Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Anna Scaife, the inaugural editorial in our new open access journal RAS Techniques and Instruments was published on 25th May 2022.     The editorial outlines the journal'…
Cover of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
High Impact Papers in MNRAS (2020-2021)
MNRAS is pleased to present a collection of articles published during 2020 and 2021 that have made an impact in the journal.   Free-to-read on the OUP MNRAS webpages the collection features 15 outstanding papers from the journal.
The galaxy HD1, a red object, appears at the centre of a zoom-in image.
Scientists have spotted the farthest galaxy ever
An international team of astronomers, including researchers at the Harvard & Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, has spotted the most distant astronomical object ever: a galaxy 13.5 billion light years away. Named HD1, the galaxy is described…
Geophysical Journal International logo
Eruption of Hunga Volcano: special issue of GJI
Geophysical Journal International (GJI) welcomes contributions to a special issue devoted to the eruptive sequence of Hunga volcano (Tonga islands) that began on 14 January 2022. This eruption produced what is perhaps the largest volcanic explosion i…
An artist's impression of the circumbinary planetary system Kepler 16-b. A planet is seen in the foreground, with 2 orange and yellow-hued stars in the background. Faint stars can be seen in the background.
‘Tatooine-like’ exoplanet spotted by ground-based telescope
A team of astronomers, led by Professor Amaury Triaud of the University of Birmingham, has detected a rare type of exoplanet using a ground-based telescope. The exoplanet is circumbinary, meaning it orbits around two stars at once, and until now had…
Two white-blue coloured spheres are shown merging in space, with tendrils of plasma coming from their merging point. Blue circular lines are seen extending outward from the point where the spheres meet.
Astronomers discover a new type of star covered in helium burning ashes
A team of German astronomers, led by Professor Klaus Werner of the University of Tübingen, have discovered a strange new type of star covered in the by-product of helium burning. It is possible that the stars might have been formed by a rare stellar…
Images showing the simulation - 3 different figures depict glowing pink and purple tendrils against the black background of space. In the third, 2 yellow-white orbs are labelled 'MW' for Milky Way and M31.
Scientists unveil most accurate virtual representation of the Universe
Scientists have produced the largest and most accurate virtual representation of the Universe to date. An international team of researchers, led by the University of Helsinki, and including members from Durham University in the UK, used supercomputer…
An illustration of a blue-white hued star in space surrounded by rings of orange and brown coloured planetary material. A small planet, blue in colour, lies just off the centre of the image.
Planetary bodies observed in habitable zone of dead star
A ring of planetary debris studded with moon-sized structures has been observed orbiting close to a white dwarf star, hinting at a nearby planet in the “habitable zone” where water and thus life could exist, according to a new study led by UCL resear…