An Exoplanet Atmosphere as Never Seen Before

Press release 22 November 2022

Known for beaming stunning images back to Earth, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope just scored another first: a molecular and chemical portrait of a distant world’s skies. Read more...

Study of ‘polluted’ white dwarfs finds that stars and planets grow together

Press release 14 Nov 2022

A team of astronomers have found that planet formation in our young Solar System started much earlier than previously thought, with the building blocks of planets growing at the same time as their parent star. Read more...

Gaia Collaboration to Receive 2023 Berkeley Prize

Press Release 9 November 2022

The Gaia collaboration will receive the 2023 Lancelot M. Berkeley − New York Community Trust Prize for Meritorious Work in Astronomy. Read more...

Dust plumes observed being pushed into interstellar space by intense starlight

Press release October 2022

Astronomers have observed directly for the first time how intense light from stars can ‘push’ matter Read more...

How to apply for a Ph.D in Astronomy

The Institute offers the opportunity to study for a Ph.D

The Institute offers the opportunity to study for a Ph.D. Projects may be exclusively theoretical or observational but many combine aspects of both and the majority involve sophisticated data-analysis techniques. Read more...

Astronomers develop novel way to ‘see’ the first stars through the fog of the early Universe

Press release 21 July 2022

A team of astronomers led by the University of Cambridge has developed a method that will allow them to ‘see’ through the fog of the early Universe and detect light from the first stars and galaxies. Read more...

Chandra Shows Giant Black Hole Spins Slower Than Its Peers

Press release 30 June 2022

IoA astronomers have made a record-breaking measurement of a black hole’s spin, hints about how some of the universe’s biggest black holes grow. Read more...

Institute of Astronomy