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Gaia spots stars flying between galaxies
A team of astronomers using the latest set of data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission to look for high-velocity stars being kicked out of the Milky Way were surprised to find stars instead sprinting inwards – perhaps from another galaxy...
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Matter falling into a black hole at 30 percent of the speed of light
A UK team of astronomers report the first detection of matter falling into a black hole at 30% of the speed of light, located in the centre of the billion-light year distant galaxy PG211+143. The team, led by Professor Ken Pounds of the University of...
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Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell wins Special Breakthrough Prize
Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell, a former President of the Royal Astronomical Society, was central to the discovery of radio pulsars when a research student. Now, 44 years later, Jocelyn has won a $3 million Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental...
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Perseid meteors to reach peak activity on 12 August
The annual Perseid meteor shower is set to light up the skies over the UK on the night of 12-13 August. The new moon will mean a darker sky and perfect conditions (given clear skies) for one of the summer months’ most breath-taking spectacles. The...
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Dr Sarah Rugheimer wins the Caroline Herschel Prize Lectureship
The William Herschel Society is pleased to announce that their 2018 Caroline Herschel Prize Lectureship has been awarded to Dr Sarah Rugheimer, Simons Research Fellow at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of St Andrews...
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Rare Red Moon and Mars in evening sky on 27 July
Skywatchers have a double treat in store on 27 July: the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century and Mars at its brightest for many years. The red planet and the (temporarily) red Moon will appear together in the same part of the sky after...
Dr Emma Chapman
RAS Research Fellow Dr Emma Chapman wins Athena Prize
Dr Emma Chapman, who holds an RAS research fellowship at Imperial College London, has won the Royal Society's Athena Prize for her work in driving nationally impactful policy changes concerning sexual harassment issues in higher education. Emma, who...
Dr Sheila Kanani talks about the AI robot Cimon on the International Space Station
Sheila Kanani talks about the new AI robot on the International Space Station
Watch Dr Sheila Kanani, RAS Education, Outreach and Diversity Officer in this report from ITN on Cimon, the new AI robot for the International Space Station. {"preview_thumbnail":"/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video...
An illustration of the structure of a greasy carbon molecule, set against an image of the galactic centre, where this material has been detected.
Grease in space
The galaxy is rich in grease-like molecules, according to an Australian-Turkish team. Astronomers at the University of New South Wales in Sydney (UNSW), and Ege University in Turkey used a laboratory to manufacture material with the same properties...
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One black hole or two? Dust clouds can explain puzzling features of active galactic nuclei
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), believe clouds of dust, rather than twin black holes, can explain the features found in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The team publish their results today (14 June) in a paper in...
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Congratulations Sir James Hough and Haley Gomez MBE!
The Royal Astronomical Society congratulates Professor (Sir) James Hough of the University of Glasgow, and Professor Haley Gomez (MBE) of the University of Cardiff, who are both recognised in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Prof. Hough is...
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First interstellar immigrant discovered in the Solar System
A new study has discovered the first known permanent immigrant to our Solar System. The asteroid, currently nestling in Jupiter’s orbit, is the first known asteroid to have been captured from another star system. The work is published in Monthly...