Research Highlights

An image of two merging galaxies. Both are light blue and cream in colour. Faint stars are seen in the background.
Galaxy mergers shed light on galactic evolution model
An Australian astronomer has solved a century-old mystery regarding how galaxies evolve from one type to another. The same study shows that the Milky Way, the galaxy we live in, was not always a spiral. The work by Professor Alister Graham from...
An image showing two black wholes interacting in space - two black circles surrounded by stars and nebulae appear warped.
Using gravitational waves to hunt for dark matter
Using computer simulations, an international team of cosmologists have discovered that observations of gravitational waves from merging black holes may unveil the true nature of dark matter. Their findings are presented at the 2023 National Astronomy...
An artist's impression of a black hole, a small black circular object surrounded by an orange disc of gas and material
Black hole ripples could help pin down expansion of Universe
The echoes of light from jets launched from black holes offers a new way to pin down the distance to these exotic objects and to study a largely unobserved population in the centre of the Galaxy. It could also even help determine the rate of...
An image of the Milky Way with a person's silhouette in the foreground.
PIGS find ancient stars in the heart of the Milky Way
An international team of researchers has obtained the largest set of detailed observations yet of the oldest stars in the centre of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. The Pristine Inner Galaxy Survey (PIGS) team finds that this group of stars is slowly...
Four panels showing the stages of gravitational interactions between two black holes.
Quasar discs could host black hole collision events
New research, in the wake of the gravitational wave discoveries, sheds light on the environments that could lead to black hole merger events. The work is presented this week at the 2023 National Astronomy Meeting by PhD student at the University of...
Image of the star cluster NGC 3532. Many bright stars of varying colours shine against a dark red and black backdrop of space.
Getting a foot on the cosmic age ladder: using machine learning to estimate stellar ages
Researchers from Keele University have developed a machine learning technique that helps astronomers better estimate the ages of stars from the chemicals within their atmospheres. The new research will be presented at the 2023 National Astronomy...
The artist's impression shows a star being consumed by a black hole. The black hole appears red and black and glows with a red light. The star in the foreground is orange in colour and also glows.
Astronomers witness energetic switch on of black hole
A team of astronomers led by researchers from the University of Birmingham, University College London and Queen’s University Belfast have discovered one of the most dramatic 'switches on' of a black hole ever seen. They will present their findings on...
An image of part of the Sun's surface.
Solar astronomers discover ‘shooting stars’ on the Sun’s corona
A team of astronomers from several European institutions led by Northumbria University in Newcastle has discovered ‘shooting stars’ on the Sun. Observations from the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter (SolO) have revealed never-before-seen...
An artist's impression of a planetary system appearing in colours of orange, yellow and brown.
‘Sandwich’ discovery offers new explanation for planet formation
Scientists have made a new discovery on how small planets might form. Researchers at the University of Warwick investigated the ‘birth environment’ of planets – areas of gas and dust that swirl around a central star – known as the protoplanetary disc...
A blue and green image of the Sun generated by AI. Solar prominences are visible.
Scientists are using deepfake AI images to understand the Sun’s atmosphere
Solar scientists are using deepfake AI images to unravel the mysteries of the Sun’s atmosphere. The research, being presented at the National Astronomy Meeting this week, was carried out as part of a collaboration between Northumbria University and...
An image of the star-forming region IC348 overlaid with an image of the tryptophan molecule.
Evidence of the amino acid tryptophan found in space
Using data from the Spitzer space observatory, Dr Susana Iglesias-Groth , a researcher from The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has found evidence for the existence of the amino acid tryptophan in the interstellar material in a nearby...
An artist's concept of the Kepler Space Telescope in space. The telescope is roughly cylindrical in shape, made of rust and silver coloured materials. Many stars can be seen in the background, as well as the Sun and Earth-Moon system.
Astronomers discover last planets seen by Kepler Space Telescope
Astronomers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, with the help of citizen scientists, have discovered the last three planets that the Kepler Space Telescope gazed upon before going dark. The...