gravity

Topic description and stories

A new map of the dark matter made by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. The orange regions show where there is more mass; purple where there is less. The typical features are hundreds of millions of light years across. The grey/white shows where contaminating light from dust in our Milky Way galaxy, measured by the Planck satellite, obscures a deeper view.

New findings that map the universe’s cosmic growth support Einstein’s theory of gravity

11 Apr 2023

A new image reveals the most detailed map of dark matter distributed across a quarter of the entire sky, reaching deep into the cosmos.

Image from Newton’s own annotated copy of Principia Mathematica

Sir Isaac Newton’s Cambridge papers added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register

01 Dec 2017

The Cambridge papers of Sir Isaac Newton, including early drafts and Newton’s annotated copies of Principia Mathematica – a work that changed the...

A force to be reckoned with

27 Nov 2017

Gravity is one of the universe's great mysteries. We decided to find out why. Think you know what gravity is? Think again. New research is revealing...

Artist’s impression of merging neutron stars, Credit: ESO/L. Calçada/M. Kornmesser

First detection of gravitational waves and light produced by colliding neutron stars

16 Oct 2017

In a galaxy far away, two dead stars begin a final spiral into a massive collision. The resulting explosion unleashes a huge burst of energy, sending...

An artist’s portrayal of a Warm Jupiter gas-giant planet (r.) in orbit around its parent star, along with smaller companion planets., Credit: Detlev Van Ravenswaay/Science Photo Library

Planets similar to Jupiter are likely able to form on orbits shorter than the Earth’s

15 Jul 2016

After analyzing four years of Kepler space telescope observations, astronomers from the University of Toronto, and of the University of Cambridge...

Illustration of gravitational vortex, Credit: ESA/ATG medialab

Gravitational vortex provides new way to study matter close to a black hole

12 Jul 2016

An international team of astronomers has proved the existence of a ‘gravitational vortex’ around a black hole, solving a mystery that has eluded...

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...

Opinion: Inside Big Ben: why the world’s most famous clock will soon lose its bong

04 May 2016

Hugh Hunt (Department of Engineering) discusses the mechanism that makes Big Ben chime, and why it needs repairing.

Priceless treasures: in a shot commissioned to celebrate Cambridge University Library’s 600th anniversary, Professor Stephen Hawking is pictured with Newton’s annotated first edition of Principia Mathematica. Credit: Graham CopeKoga

Understanding gravity - from Newton to Hawking

29 Apr 2016

The most important publication in the history of science – Isaac Newton’s own annotated copy of Principia Mathematica – and other seminal works by...

Opinion: The remarkable accuracy of the Trinity College clock – and what makes it tick

06 Apr 2016

Hugh Hunt (Department of Engineering) discusses the history of the Trinity College clock and how it keeps time.