Research Highlights

This artist's concept shows a pulsar, which is like a lighthouse, as its light appears in regular pulses as it rotates.
How astronomers are using pulsars to observe evidence of dark matter
Tantalising evidence of potential dark matter objects has been detected with the help of the Universe’s ‘timekeepers’. These pulsars – neutron stars which rotate and emit lighthouse-like beams of radio waves that rapidly sweep through space – were...
Simulation of a galaxy’s ‘heart and lungs’ at work inset on an artist's impression of bi-polar jets of gas originating from a supermassive black hole at the centre of a galaxy.
How the 'heart and lungs' of a galaxy extend its life
Galaxies avoid an early death because they have a "heart and lungs" which effectively regulate their "breathing" and prevent them growing out of control, a new study suggests. If they didn't, the Universe would have aged much faster than it has and...
An artist's impression of the newly-discovered, Earth-like exoplanet Gliese 12 b.
Rare 'exo-Venus' with Earth-like temperature discovered
Astronomers have made the rare and tantalising discovery of an Earth-like exoplanet 40 light-years away that may be just a little warmer than our own world. The potentially-habitable planet, named Gliese 12 b, orbits its host star every 12.8 days, is...
Artwork showing debris around a white dwarf star.
‘Swallowed’, torn up or live on: How Earth will fare when the Sun dies
Our solar system and everything within it - including the Earth - will look very different when the Sun dies. But whether the planet we call home is “swallowed” up by our dying star or manages to escape its clutches, only time will tell. The inner...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Background image of simulation of present-day matter from FLAMINGO simulation, with three insets showing detail.
Astronomers carry out largest ever cosmological computer simulation
An international team of astronomers has carried out what is believed to be the largest ever cosmological computer simulation, tracking not only dark but also ordinary matter (such as planets, stars and galaxies), giving us a glimpse into how our...
An artist's impression of a T Tauri star. The star appears in colours of red, purple, orange and yellow, and is obscured by dust clouds.
First observational evidence of gamma-ray emission in young Sun-like stars
A team of scientists from Argentina and Spain have reported the first observational evidence that a type of young low-mass star, known as T Tauri stars, are capable of emitting gamma radiation. The study is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal...