Latest News

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RAS statement on girls in physics
The Royal Astronomical Society notes with dismay the comments this week by Katharine Birbalsingh CBE, the chair of the UK government social mobility commission, suggesting that girls do not choose to study physics as they dislike “hard maths”...
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 today...
Image of Prof. Dr Eva Grebel smiling against a white background.
Prof. Dr Eva Grebel wins first Caroline Herschel Medal
Prof. Dr Eva Grebel, an astrophysicist at Heidelberg University, is the first winner of the Caroline Herschel Medal, a new joint award from the Royal Astronomical Society and the German Astronomical Society (Astronomische Gesellschaft, AG), launched...
Becky Smethurst
Dr Rebecca Smethurst Wins 2022 RAS Research Fellowship
The Royal Astronomical Society is pleased to announce that Dr Rebecca Smethurst has been awarded the 2022 RAS Research Fellowship. The purpose of the RAS Research Fellowships is to enable outstanding candidates to pursue research in the UK in the...
Image of a pink and purple hued nebulous region in space overlaid with the RAS logo in the top right corner. Text in the centre reads "International Women's Day, Tuesday 8 March 2022"
International Women's Day 2022
Today, Tuesday 8 March, marks International Women's Day 2022. International Women's Day is a day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements and contributions of women all around the world. The Royal Astronomical Society is...
Royal Astronomical Society logo 2020
RAS Statement on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
The Royal Astronomical Society deeply regrets the illegal military invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign democratic nation, by Russia. Our thoughts and hopes go out to our fellow scientists and all the citizens of Ukraine for their safety and well-being...
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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...
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...
Call for suggestions for RAS Specialist Discussion Meetings 2022-23 (Deadline 11 March 2022)
The RAS invites suggestions from Fellows of the RAS who wish to propose (and therefore organise) Specialist Discussion meetings for the academic year beginning October 2022. Meetings are held monthly from October to May, normally on the second Friday...
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...