Research Highlights

This image combines data from four space telescopes to create a multi-wavelength view of all that remains of RCW 86, the oldest documented example of a supernova.
'Crisis averted' as experts confirm universe's expansion IS accelerating
Our universe's expansion is still accelerating despite recent claims suggesting otherwise, an international team of astrophysicists say. They refuted a study published last year claiming the growth of the universe is slowing and insist there is no...
An artist’s impression of the galaxy CRISTAL-02, with a huge plume of cold gas extending away from it. This plume is almost as long as the galaxy itself, which is a telltale sign that gas is being driven out of the galaxy.
Galaxy-killing wind discovered in the early universe
Astronomers have discovered a 'galaxy-killing wind' that may explain why there are far more massive 'dead' galaxies than expected in the early universe. This wind, powered by cosmic collisions of galaxies, could quickly blow away all the fuel for new...
This artist's impression shows two Earth-sized worlds passing in front of their parent red dwarf star in the TRAPPIST-1 system 40 light-years away.
Red dwarf stars detected 'eating' Earth-like planets
Astronomers have found some of the strongest evidence yet that stars can swallow their own planets. A new study, published in Monthly Notices of the Astronomical Society, supports the long-held belief that young stars are capable of 'eating' nearby...
A split image showing an active Sun during solar maximum (on the left, taken in 2014) and a quiet Sun during solar minimum (on the right, taken in 2019).
Listening to Sun’s 'heart' hints our star could be changing
The Sun's internal 'biorhythm' – which plays a critical role in the space weather we experience on Earth – has mysteriously changed over the past 40 years, a new study suggests. Listening to tiny sound waves inside our star's 'heart' led researchers...
Visual impressions of the COLIBRE simulations
See and hear galaxies evolve from the dawn of the universe
The most realistic picture yet of how galaxies formed and then evolved from the beginning of time has been revealed in a suite of new and unique audiovisual simulations. This data, published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society...
An artist’s impression of the Milky Way, with two of its satellite galaxies – the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud – in the bottom left.
Galactic warming: The ‘car engine-like’ effect heating our Milky Way
Our Milky Way's halo of hot gas is warmer to the 'south' than the 'north' because of an internal combustion engine-like effect that is compressing the gas like a piston, a new study has found. Computer simulations reveal that the Large Magellanic...
A diagram depicting habitable zone boundaries across star type with rocky exoplanets from Bohl et al. (2026). The boundaries of the habitable zone shift based on star colour, since different wavelengths of light will heat a planet's atmosphere differently. 
The best places to look for alien life: Scientists identify 45 Earth-like worlds to explore for a 'Project Hail Mary'
If we're to find extraterrestrial life in the universe, astronomers have pinpointed the best places to look for it. They have identified just under 50 rocky worlds most likely to be habitable out of the more than 6,000 exoplanets discovered so far...
This image was taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft on 1 January 2019 during a flyby of Kuiper belt object 2014 MU69, known as Arrokoth.
Why some objects in space look like snowmen
Astronomers have long debated why so many icy objects in the outer solar system look like snowmen. Now, thanks to a new computer simulation in a research paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Michigan State University...
An artist’s impression of the stellar dimming event caused by a brown dwarf or super-Jupiter with massive rings (foreground) forming an opaque “saucer” through which some light from the star ASASSN-24fw (background) shines.
Unseen planet or brown dwarf may have hidden 'rare' fading star
One of the longest stellar dimming events ever observed was likely caused by the gigantic saucer-like rings of either an unseen brown dwarf or 'super-Jupiter' blocking its host star's light, astronomers say. For decades the star – which sits 3,200...
Artistic representation of the Milky Way, where the innermost stars move at near relativistic speeds around a dense core of dark matter.
'Dark matter, not a black hole, could power Milky Way's heart'
Our Milky Way galaxy may not have a supermassive black hole at its centre but rather an enormous clump of mysterious dark matter exerting the same gravitational influence, astronomers say. They believe this invisible substance – which makes up most...
A composite RGB image of the Ring Nebula (also known as Messier 57 and NGC 6720) constructed from four WEAVE/LIFU emission-line images.
Mysterious iron 'bar' discovered in famous nebula
A mysterious bar-shaped cloud of iron has been discovered inside the iconic Ring Nebula by a European team led by astronomers at University College London (UCL) and Cardiff University. The cloud of iron atoms, described for the first time in Monthly...
This LOFAR DR2 image of J1007+3540 superimposed over an optical image by Pan-STARRS shows a compact, bright inner jet, indicating the reawakening of what had been a ‘sleeping’ supermassive black hole at the heart of the gigantic radio galaxy.
'Reborn' black hole spotted 'erupting like cosmic volcano'
One of the most vivid portraits of “reborn” black hole activity – likened to the eruption of a “cosmic volcano” spreading almost one million light-years across space – has been captured in a gigantic radio galaxy. The dramatic scene was uncovered...