Research Highlights

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...
This artist's impression of a quasar shows a bright orange and white disc of material centred around a small black circle. A jet of light emanates from this circle, white and blue in colour.
An X-ray look at the heart of powerful quasars
Researchers have observed the X-ray emission of the most luminous quasar seen in the last 9 billion years of cosmic history, known as SMSS J114447.77-430859.3, or J1144 for short. The new perspective sheds light on the inner workings of quasars and...
An artist's impression of a black hole accretion shows a large yellow disc shaped formation with a small black circle at the centre. The disc appears to be sucking in blue light that emanates from a blue sphere in the bottom left corner of the image.
Astronomers reveal the largest cosmic explosion ever seen
A team of astronomers led by researchers at the University of Southampton has uncovered the largest cosmic explosion ever witnessed. The explosion is more than ten times brighter than any known supernova. The research is published in Monthly Notices...
An artist's impression of a disc shaped cloud of dust around a black hole. Two jets coming from either side of the disc appear bright blue and extend towards the outside of the image.
Hidden supermassive black holes brought to life by galaxies on collision course
Astronomers have found that supermassive black holes obscured by dust are more likely to grow and release tremendous amounts of energy when they are inside galaxies that are expected to collide with a neighbouring galaxy. The new work, led by...
An image of the Milky Way warped around a small black circle at the centre of the image.
Light-bending gravity reveals one of the biggest black holes ever found
A team of astronomers have discovered one of the biggest black holes ever found, taking advantage of a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. The findings are published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The team, led by Durham...
The artist's impression shows a large, grey rocky body in outer space with a bright yellow-white star in the background. Faint stars are also seen in the background.
Redness of Neptunian asteroids sheds light on early Solar System
Asteroids sharing their orbits with the planet Neptune have been observed to exist in a broad spectrum of red colour, implying the existence of two populations of asteroids in the region, according to a new study by an international team of...