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Dr Linda Tacconi, of the Max Planck Institute.
‘Ground-breaking' astronomer awarded 2024 Caroline Herschel Medal
A "ground-breaking" astronomer who specialises in how galaxies form and evolve has been awarded this year’s Caroline Herschel Medal - an honour which celebrates outstanding women astrophysicists in the UK and Germany. Dr Linda Tacconi, of the Max...
The 1954 Castle Bravo mushroom cloud.
End of nuclear secrecy? Underground tests now '99% detectable'
Secret underground nuclear tests could now be a thing of the past thanks to a major scientific breakthrough in ways to identify them. A team of Earth scientists and statisticians say they can now tell with 99 per cent accuracy if such an explosion...
Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard (left), Douglas Gough (centre) and Conny Aerts (right) have been awarded the Crafoord Prize in Astronomy 2024.
Unlocking answers to ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ earns RAS Fellows prestigious prize
For more than 200 years the nursery rhyme " Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" has posed a question astronomers have struggled to answer. But thanks to three Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society, we are now unlocking the secrets of just 'what stars...
Artist impressions of a so-called 'Old Smoker' red giant star and 'Squalling Newborn' protostar, both observed as part of new research.
'Old smokers' and 'squalling newborns' among hidden stars spotted for first time
'Hidden' stars including a new type of elderly giant nicknamed an 'old smoker' have been spotted for the first time by astronomers. The mystery objects exist at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy and can sit quietly for decades – fading almost to...
Professor John-Michael Kendall (left) and Professor Gilles Chabrier (right) have won the RAS Gold Medal (inset) for 2024.
Royal Astronomical Society unveils 2024 award winners
An astrophysicist known for his work on brown dwarfs and a geophysicist whose career has taken him to the hottest and coldest places on Earth have joined the likes of Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble and Stephen Hawking in being awarded the Royal...
Early images of Uranus and Neptune compared to those reprocessed in a new study.
New images reveal what Neptune and Uranus really look like
Neptune is fondly known for being a rich blue and Uranus green – but a new study has revealed that the two ice giants are actually far closer in colour than typically thought. The correct shades of the planets have been confirmed with the help of...
Image of Professor Emma Bunce
New Year Honours for two ex-RAS presidents, space scientist and astronomer
Two former presidents of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) are among four astronomers who have been recognised in the 2024 New Year Honours list. The University of Leicester’s Professor Emma Bunce and Professor Mike Cruise, of the University of...
Dynamic spectra (or “waterfall” plots) for all the bursts from FRB 20220912A.
Never-before-seen Fast Radio Burst sheds new light on deep space signals
Astronomers are continuing to unravel the mystery of deep space signals after discovering a never-before-seen quirk in a newly-detected Fast Radio Burst (FRB). FRBs are millisecond-long, extremely bright flashes of radio light that generally come...
The Geminid meteor shower lights up the night sky
How and when to see the Geminid meteor shower
Stargazers will have a chance to enjoy one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year later this week, as the Geminids reach their peak. Under perfect conditions, up to 150 meteors an hour could light up the night sky from Thursday into...
Image from the Solar Dynamics Observatory mission of the solar disk with multiple sunspots, which appear dark compared with their surroundings. Credit: HMI/SDO/NASA
Solar activity likely to peak next year, new study suggests
Researchers at the Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India at IISER Kolkata have discovered a new relationship between the Sun’s magnetic field and its sunspot cycle, that can help predict when the peak in solar activity will occur. Their work...
Artist's impression of the Cassini spacecraft near to Saturn..JPG
Using eclipses to calculate the transparency of Saturn’s rings
A Lancaster University PhD student has measured the optical depth of Saturn’s rings using a new method based on how much sunlight reached the Cassini spacecraft while it was in the shadow of the rings. The optical depth is connected to the...
RAS new logo
RAS Council 2024 nominations are now open!
Fellows of the RAS are invited to put themselves forward to run for election to the Society's governing Council, our board of trustees. You can now submit nominations for candidates, or consider having yourself nominated for the Council positions...