Topic description and stories

Galactic ‘vapour trails’ uncovered in giant cluster

20 Sep 2013

Astronomers have discovered enormous smooth shapes that look like vapour trails in a gigantic galaxy cluster. These ‘arms’ span half a million light...

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This illustration is an artist’s impression of the thin, rocky debris disc discovered around the two Hyades white dwarfs. Rocky asteroids are thought to be perturbed by planets within the system and diverted inwards towards the star, where they break up,

‘Polluted’ stellar graveyard gives glimpse of our Solar System after Sun’s implosion

09 May 2013

Research indicates the existence of Earth-like planets in dead solar system through latest chemical analysis techniques

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Planck captures portrait of the young Universe, revealing earliest light

21 Mar 2013

Satellite’s first all-sky image is the most detailed picture to date of the early Universe, giving us a better understanding of its birth.

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Beyond the blinding starlight

11 Mar 2013

Study reveals chemical composites of exoplanet atmospheres 128 light years away. Scientists say techniques will “one day provide evidence of life...

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Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 6217

Are we ready to meet ET?

05 Mar 2013

Once only science fiction, astronomers are now finding hundreds of planetary systems beyond our own. Given recent discoveries through space...

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Venus, Jupiter and the Moon viewed from Earth.

Your chance to meet the stars

30 Nov 2012

Experience a free night of stargazing in Cambridge to coincide with the BBC’s “Stargazing Live” when it returns to our screens in January.

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An image of the star Gilese 581 (bottom of image), with an illustration of the debris disc superimposed to show its position.

Low-mass planets make good neighbours for debris discs

27 Nov 2012

Astronomers using the Herschel Space Observatory have detected massive debris discs around two nearby stars hosting low-mass planets. The discovery...

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This artist's impression shows a gas-giant exoplanet transiting across the face of its star. Infrared analysis by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

World-renowned astrophysicist to join Cavendish Laboratory

31 Oct 2012

New professor is one of the joint discoverers of a planet orbiting a normal star beyond the Solar System.

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The galaxy NGC 4151. Researchers were able to use this galaxy to accumulate data about flares coming from a mysterious X-ray source close to the giant black hole at its centre.

“Echo” of light augurs new era in study of black holes

31 May 2012

A long-sought “echo” of light that promises to reveal more about supersized black holes in distant galaxies has been identified by an international...

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Gaia Deployable Sunshield Assembly

Twinkle, twinkle, little star: I’m going to know what you are

26 Apr 2012

A team of astronomers at the University of Cambridge is taking the next big step in a European-wide programme which will lead to the creation of the...

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Leonardo Da Vinci's depiction of the Last Supper

The Penultimate Supper?

17 Apr 2011

The Last Supper of Jesus Christ was on the Wednesday, and not the Thursday, before his death, according to a new study which claims to have solved “...

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cosmic climate change

Astronomers find evidence of cosmic climate change

23 Dec 2010

Evidence of an intense warming period in the Universe’s early history, described as a form of “cosmic climate change”, has been found by an...

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