Journal News | The Royal Astronomical Society

Artist's impression of a free-floating planet

Kepler telescope glimpses population of free-floating planets

Tantalising evidence has been uncovered for a mysterious population of “free-floating” planets, planets that may be alone in deep space, unbound to any host star. The results include four new discoveries that are consistent with planets of similar ma…

New observations of the most distant galaxies close in on cosmic dawn

New observations of six of the most distant galaxies currently known have helped to pinpoint the moment of first light in the Universe, known as ‘cosmic dawn’. The new work is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and puts…

Side-by-side artist's impressions of Kepler 422-b and Earth

Earth-like biospheres on other planets may be rare

A new analysis of known exoplanets has revealed that Earth-like conditions on potentially habitable planets may be much rarer than previously thought. The work focuses on the conditions required for oxygen-based photosynthesis to develop on a planet,…

Artist's impression of a small blue star accreting material from its much larger yellow binary companion

Mysterious hydrogen-free supernova sheds light on stars’ violent death throes

A curiously yellow pre-supernova star has caused astrophysicists to re-evaluate what’s possible at the deaths of our Universe’s most massive stars. The team describe the peculiar star and its resulting supernova in a new study published today in Mon…

Trails caused by the fifth deployment of satellites making up the Starlink constellation.

Satellites contribute significant light pollution to night skies

Scientists reported new research results today suggesting that artificial objects in orbit around the Earth are brightening night skies on our planet significantly more than previously understood. The research, accepted for publication in Monthly…

Image of a spiral galaxy surrounded by a blue cloud representing the dark matter halo

New study suggests supermassive black holes could form from dark matter

A new theoretical study has proposed a novel mechanism for the creation of supermassive black holes from dark matter. The international team find that rather than the conventional formation scenarios involving ‘normal’ matter, supermassive black hole…

Two views of a 3D reconstruction of the Crab nebula

Spectacular ‘honeycomb heart’ revealed in iconic stellar explosion

A unique ‘heart-shape’, with wisps of gas filaments showing an intricate honeycomb-like arrangement, has been discovered at the centre of the iconic supernova remnant, the Crab Nebula. Astronomers have mapped the void in unprecedented detail, creatin…

RAS thanks GJI Outstanding Reviewers 2020

The RAS expresses its thanks to reviewers recognised by the editorial board of Geophysical Journal International, its leading academic journal in the field of geophysics. The editorial board wishes to acknowledge the outstanding work performed by…

Publishing now and in the future

Stacks of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

200 years of the RAS: Publishing progress

The RAS has been publishing scientific research for almost 200 years. In a new exploration of our publishing history in A&G, assistant editors Bella Lock and Louise Alexander review how the Society's world-class journals began and evolved. Read…

Image of two radio galaxies overlaid on an optical image of the sky.

Cosmic beasts and where to find them

Two giant radio galaxies have been discovered with South Africa's powerful MeerKAT telescope. These galaxies are thought to be amongst the largest single objects in the Universe. The discovery has been published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal…

GJI 2020 Student Author Award winners announced

Geophysical Journal International (GJI) is delighted to announce the winners of its Student Author Awards for 2020. The awards are designed to recognise and acknowledge the best papers submitted to GJI by young scientists in the field. Manuscripts…