Topic description and stories

Icy ring around young planetary system has similar chemical fingerprint to our solar system

18 May 2017

An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge, has made the most detailed image of the ring of dusty...

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Gaia’s first sky map

Gaia results revealed – first data release from the most detailed map ever made of the sky

14 Sep 2016

̽»¨Ö±²¥first results from the Gaia satellite, which is completing an unprecedented census of more than one billion stars in the Milky Way, are being...

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Artist's impression of dark matter clumps around a Milky Way-like galaxy

Massive holes ‘punched’ through a trail of stars likely caused by dark matter

07 Sep 2016

̽»¨Ö±²¥discovery of two massive holes punched through a stream of stars could help answer questions about the nature of dark matter, the mysterious...

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Artist’s impression of the ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 from the surface of one of its planets

New exoplanet think tank will ask the big questions about extra-terrestrial worlds

05 Sep 2016

An international exoplanet ‘think tank’ is meeting this week in Cambridge to deliberate on the ten most important questions that humanity could...

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Artist’s impression of the disc and outflow around the massive young star

Astronomers identify a young heavyweight star in the Milky Way

22 Aug 2016

A young star over 30 times more massive than the Sun could help us understand how the most extreme stars in the Universe are born.

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First atmospheric study of Earth-sized exoplanets using Hubble telescope

20 Jul 2016

Two Earth-sized exoplanets have become the first rocky worlds to have their atmospheres studied using the Hubble Space Telescope.

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X-ray view of the Perseus cluster

Dead satellite finds a calm centre at the heart of brightest galaxy cluster in the sky

06 Jul 2016

With its very first – and last – observation, the Hitomi x-ray observatory has discovered that the gas in the Perseus cluster of galaxies is much...

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Computer simulations motivated by GW150914

Using gravitational waves to catch runaway black holes

30 Jun 2016

Black holes are the most powerful gravitational force in the Universe. So what could cause them to be kicked out of their host galaxies? Cambridge...

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Artist’s impression of the distant galaxy SXDF-NB1006-2

Astronomers observe most distant oxygen ever

16 Jun 2016

An international team of astronomers have detected glowing oxygen in a distant galaxy seen just 700 million years after the Big Bang. This is the...

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Illustration of the dust ring surrounding HD 181327

First evidence of icy comets orbiting a sun-like star

19 May 2016

Astronomers have found the first evidence of comets around a star similar to the sun, providing an opportunity to study what our solar system was...

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Artist’s impression of the ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 from the surface of one of its planets.

Three potentially habitable worlds found around nearby ultracool dwarf star

02 May 2016

Three Earth-sized planets have been discovered orbiting a dim and cool star, and may be the best place to search for life beyond the Solar System.

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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasts off

Opinion: How to launch a rocket into space … and then land it on a ship at sea

13 Apr 2016

Hugh Hunt (Department of Engineering) discusses the intricacies of reusable spacecraft.

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