news 2017

An international team of astronomers have used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to estimate whether there might be water on the seven earth-sized planets orbiting the nearby dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, and the results suggest that the outer planets of the system might still harbour substantial amounts of water.

Based on observations of newly-forming stars, scientists know that the solar system began as a disc of dust and gas surrounding the centrally-growing sun. The gas condensed to solids which accumulated into larger rocky bodies like asteroids and mini-planets. Over a period of 100 million years these mini-planets collided with one another and gradually accumulated into the planets we see today, including the Earth.

Physicists have described how observations of gravitational waves limit the possible explanations for the formation of black holes outside of our galaxy; either they are spinning more slowly than black holes in our own galaxy or they spin rapidly but are 'tumbled around' with spins randomly oriented to their orbit.

A group-analysis of 30 exoplanets orbiting distant stars suggests that size, not mass, is a key factor in whether a planet's atmosphere can be detected according to a UCL-led team of European researchers. The largest population-study of exoplanets to date successfully detected atmospheres around 16 'hot Jupiters', and found that water vapour was present in every case.

An international team of astronomers has detected titanium oxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet for the first time. The results provide unique information about the chemical composition and the temperature and pressure structure of the atmosphere of this unusual and very hot world. The clear detection of the molecule is a major observational advancement - it is an exciting time in exoplanetary science.

There could be water on multiple Earth-sized planets orbiting the recently discovered TRAPPIST-1 dwarf star - making them potentially habitable - according to an international collaboration of researchers, including the University of Warwick. Using the NASA/ESA Hubble telescope to estimate whether there might be water on the surface of the seven planets around TRAPPIST-1, the researchers found that although the innermost planets must have lost most - if not all - of their water, the outer planets of the system might still harbour substantial amounts.

A high resolution image from the HiRISE camera onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter of one of the new Martian araneiform (or "spider") locales outside of the South Polar Layered Deposits discovered by the Planet Four: Terrains volunteers. Image credit:  NASA/JPL/University of Arizona Armchair astronomers have helped Oxford University scientists discover landforms known as 'spiders' on parts of Mars where they were previously thought not to exist.

A Lancaster physicist has led an international study, based on data from the European Space Agency Mars Express orbiter , which throws new light on the interaction between the planet Mars and supersonic particles in the solar wind. As the energetic particles of the solar wind speed across interplanetary space, their motion is modified by objects in their path.

Lancaster physicists working on a major international experiment are a step closer to understanding conditions after the 'Big Bang' and mysteries of why there is so much matter in the universe. Researchers at the T2K (Tokai to Kamioka - which involves sending neutrinos 295 km through the earth across Japan) experiment have discovered that the symmetry between matter and antimatter may be violated for neutrino oscillations.

The theory that dark matter and dark energy make up most of the cosmos has been confirmed by extremely accurate measurements from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) collaboration involving UCL scientists. The findings verify that only 4% of the universe is made of ordinary matter, 26% is in the form of mysterious dark matter and space is filled with an unseen dark energy, which is causing the accelerating expansion of the universe and makes up 70%.

An important type of molecule that helps produce complex organic material has been detected within Titan's hazy upper atmosphere by a UCL-led team as part of the international Cassini-Huygens mission. In the study, published in Astrophysical Journal Letters , scientists identified negatively charged molecules called 'carbon chain anions' in the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon.

The Cassini probe's first results from inside Saturn's rings make scientists question the conventional wisdom on how planets form magnetic fields. As NASA's Cassini spacecraft makes its unprecedented series of weekly dives between Saturn and its rings, scientists are finding - so far - that the planet's magnetic field has no discernable tilt.

A star about the size of Saturn - the smallest ever measured - has been identified by astronomers. Our discovery reveals how small stars can be. Alexander Boetticher The smallest star yet measured has been discovered by a team of astronomers led by the University of Cambridge. With a size just a sliver larger than that of Saturn, the gravitational pull at its stellar surface is about 300 times stronger than what humans feel on Earth.

A group of scientists led by researchers at Cardiff University have discovered a rich inventory of molecules at the centre of an exploded star for the very first time. Two previously undetected molecules, formylium (HCO + ) and sulphur monoxide (SO), were found in the cooling aftermath of Supernova 1987A, located 163,000 light years away in a nearby neighbour of our own Milky Way galaxy.

The Little Cub galaxy (circled) which is being stripped of gas by its larger neighbour. Credit: SDSS Collaboration A primitive galaxy that could provide clues about the early Universe has been spotted by astronomers as it begins to be consumed by a gigantic neighbouring galaxy. The Little Cub galaxy - so called because it sits in the Ursa Major or Great Bear constellation - is being stripped of the gas needed to continue forming stars by its larger companion.

Scientists reveal the first detection of a molecule from Enceladus with a ground-based telescope, with implications for the search for life. Saturn's moon Enceladus has peaked scientists' interest since water-rich plumes were discovered gushing from around its south pole. The discovery was made by the Cassini spacecraft, which has since flown through the plumes and sampled organic compounds.

The LIGO-Virgo Team - a worldwide team of research institutions, including the University of Birmingham - has detected a new gravitational-wave signal emanating from the collision of two black holes. The discovery adds further evidence for Einstein's famous theory of general relativity, and confirms the existence of a previously unknown population of black holes.

Scientists at the University of Nottingham have made a significant leap forward in understanding the workings of one of the mysteries of the universe. They have successfully simulated the conditions around black holes using a specially designed water bath. The video can be viewed here. Their findings shed new light on the physics of black holes with the first laboratory evidence of the phenomenon known as the superradiance, achieved using water and a generator to create waves.

Scientists seeking to understand the origins of life have found a new organic compound in the material from which a star like the Sun is forming. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) are part of a team that have for the first time detected methyl isocyanate (or CH3NCO) in a solar-type protostar, the kind from which our Sun and the Solar System formed.

University of Glasgow astrophysicists are celebrating the third detection of gravitational waves - ripples in spacetime which are beginning to underpin an entirely new form of astronomy. This new gravitational wave detection comes from the merger of two massive black holes. The waves cast out across the cosmos by the immense event reached Earth on January 4, 2017, having travelled around three billion light-years on their journey.