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Colour image of a flat top, heavily eroded FSR. Sand dunes can be seen migrating over the top of the FSR.
Ancient river systems reveal Mars was wetter than we thought
The discovery of more than 15,000 kilometres of ancient riverbeds on Mars suggests that the Red Planet may once have been much wetter than previously thought. Researchers looked at fluvial sinuous ridges, also known as inverted channels, across...
An artist’s impression of the proposed VERVE mission to Venus the answer whether tiny bacterial lifeforms really do exist in the planet’s clouds.
Life on Venus? UK probe could reveal the answer
The answer to whether tiny bacterial lifeforms really do exist in the clouds of Venus could be revealed once-and-for-all by a UK-backed mission. Over the past five years researchers have detected the presence of two potential biomarkers – the gases...
The Mars mission that could prep for a human landing
If we're to land humans on Mars in the coming decades, we'll have to know what challenges await them when they get there. Enter M-MATISSE, a potential precursor to a crewed mission to the Red Planet which could use UK instrumentation being promoted...
An artist’s impression of what the UK-ODESSI space monitor could look like.
UK hopes to bolster space weather forecasts with Europe's first solar storm monitor
A new UK-led satellite mission concept aims to strengthen the country's position in space weather observation and forecasting by deploying a suite of homegrown scientific instruments on a low-cost spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. The proposal is being...
An artist’s impression of the UK-led CosmoCube spacecraft, which would orbit be tasked with listening out for an “ancient whisper” from the early universe on the far side of the Moon.
Probing the cosmic Dark Ages from the far side of the Moon
Astronomers want to unlock the secrets of the 'Cosmic Dawn' by sending a miniature spacecraft to listen out for an "ancient whisper" on the far side of the Moon. The proposed mission will study the very early universe, right after the Big Bang, when...
Artificial solar eclipses in space could shed light on Sun
Recreating artificial solar eclipses in space could help astronomers decipher the inner workings of our Sun much quicker than if they had to wait for the celestial show on Earth. The plan, part of a UK-led space mission to be unveiled at the Royal...
How airports like Heathrow and Gatwick could help aliens spot Earth
Radar systems used by civilian airports and military operations are inadvertently revealing our existence to potential advanced alien civilisations, new research shows. The study explored how hidden electromagnetic leakage might look to...
If we are located in a region with below-average density such as the green dot, then matter would flow away from us due to stronger gravity from the surrounding denser regions, as shown by the red arrows.
Is Earth inside a huge void? 'Sound of Big Bang' hints so
Earth and our entire Milky Way galaxy may sit inside a mysterious giant hole which makes the cosmos expand faster here than in neighbouring regions of the universe, astronomers say. Their theory is a potential solution to the 'Hubble tension' and...
RAS reopens Burlington House HQ
The Royal Astronomical Society is pleased to welcome back staff, Fellows and members of the public to its offices at Burlington House. A power outage in the surrounding area had temporarily forced the closure of the offices last week. We apologise...
An artist’s impression of dust and tiny grains in a protoplanetary disc surrounding a young star (left) alongside an e-MERLIN map showing the tilted disc structure around the young star DG Tauri (top right) and the HL Tau disc captured by e-MERLIN is shown overlaid on an ALMA image, revealing both the compact emission from the central region of the disc and the larger scale dust rings (bottom right).
The birth of a solar system revealed by planet 'pebbles'
A fascinating glimpse into how a solar system like our own is born has been revealed with the detection of planet-forming 'pebbles' around two young stars. These seeds to make new worlds are thought to gradually clump together over time, in much the...
Dr Sophia Vaughan (left), Dr Sihui Zhong (middle) and Graeme McGhee (right) are the 2024 Thesis Prize winners.
Max Planck astronomer among 2024 Thesis Prize winners
The Royal Astronomical Society is pleased to announce the winners of its prizes for the best PhD theses completed in the UK in 2024. Prizes are awarded annually: the Michael Penston Prize for the best thesis in astronomy and astrophysics, the Keith...
Astronomers pulled from James Webb Space Telescope’s data to analyse a sample of 111 disc galaxies, like the ones shown here.
JWST digs into structural origins of disk galaxies
Astronomers are a step closer to deciphering the origins of disk galaxies like our own Milky Way thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope. Through the eyes of Webb they were able to study 111 single-disk and double-disk galaxies across a large span...