Topic description and stories

Artist’s impression of a super-Earth exoplanet orbiting its nearby star

Exoplanet hunter: in search of new Earths and life in the Universe

15 Feb 2016

In 1995, in Geneva, PhD student Didier Queloz discovered a planet orbiting another sun – something that astronomers had predicted, but never found...

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Artist’s impression of super-Earth 55 Cancri e, showing a hot partially-molten surface of the planet before and after possible volcanic activity on the day side.

Astronomers find first evidence of changing conditions on a super Earth

05 May 2015

Astronomers have detected wildly changing temperatures on a super Earth – the first time any atmospheric variability has been observed on a rocky...

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The Esquel pallasite from the Natural History Museum collections, consists of gem-quality crystals of the silicate mineral olivine embedded in a matrix of iron-nickel alloy.

Death of a dynamo – a hard drive from space

21 Jan 2015

Hidden magnetic messages contained within ancient meteorites are providing a unique window into the processes that shaped our solar system, and may...

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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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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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Core values set new date for birth of the Earth

09 Jul 2010

The Earth could be up to 70 million years younger than scientists previously thought, a study has found.

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big bang

Unlocking the secrets of the universe

01 Apr 2008

Cosmic defects and adolescent galaxies – two research projects in Cambridge are bringing us closer to understanding the cosmos.

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