Institute of Astronomy

News and Press Releases

Prof. Martin J. Rees awarded Fritz Zwicky Prize for Astrophysics & Cosmology

Published on 06/03/2020 

The Inaugural Fritz Zwicky Prize for Astrophysics & Cosmology is awarded to Prof. Martin J. Rees (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom) for outstanding contributions to astrophysics and cosmology including seminal papers on active galaxies and black holes, the origin of gamma-ray bursts, the large-scale structure of the Universe, and the cosmic microwave background. This exceptionally broad oeuvre has been both prescient and enormously influential.

 

Large exoplanet could have the right conditions for life

Published on 27/02/2020 

Astronomers have found an exoplanet more than twice the size of Earth to be potentially habitable, opening the search for life to planets significantly larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune.

 

XMM-Newton maps black hole surroundings

Published on 21/01/2020 

 XMM-Newton maps black hole surroundings

 Material falling into a black hole casts X-rays out into space – and now, for the first
 time, ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray observatory has used the reverberating echoes of
 this radiation to map the dynamic behaviour and surroundings of a black hole itself.

Water common – yet scarce – in exoplanets

Published on 11/12/2019 

Water common – yet scarce – in exoplanets

 

The most extensive survey of atmospheric chemical compositions of exoplanets to date has revealed trends that challenge current theories of planet formation and has implications for the search for water in the solar system and beyond.

 

Stormy cluster weather could unleash black hole power and explain lack of cosmic cooling

Published on 16/10/2019 

Stormy cluster weather could unleash black hole power and explain lack of cosmic cooling

“Weather” in clusters of galaxies may explain a longstanding puzzle, according to a team of researchers at the University of Cambridge. The scientists used sophisticated simulations to show how powerful jets from supermassive black holes are disrupted by the motion of hot gas and galaxies, preventing gas from cooling, which could otherwise form stars. The team publish their work in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.