Institute of Astronomy

News and Press Releases

Dust plumes observed being pushed into interstellar space by intense starlight

Published on 13/10/2022 

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

The Milky Way Galaxy - From Beginning to End

Published on 29/09/2022 

What we call the Milky Way, our Galaxy, has been the focus of myth, story and study in every society with a recorded history for millennia. Understanding its structure defeated Isaac Newton.  One hundred years ago it was realized  that the Milky Way is just one amongst a Universe of galaxies.

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

Published on 21/07/2022 

A team of astronomers 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.

The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, have developed a methodology that will allow them to observe and study the first stars through the clouds of hydrogen that filled the Universe about 378,000 years after the Big Bang.

CHANDRA SHOWS GIANT BLACK HOLE SPINS SLOWER THAN ITS PEERS

Published on 30/06/2022 

Astronomers have made a record-breaking measurement of a black hole’s spin, one of two fundamental properties of black holes. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory shows this black hole is spinning slower than most of its smaller cousins.  

Largest chemical map of the Milky Way unveiled

Published on 13/06/2022 

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia mission has released a new treasure trove of data about our home galaxy, including stellar DNA, asymmetric motions, strange ‘starquakes’, and other fascinating insights.