91¸£Àû

Four academics at the 91¸£Àû have been awarded a UKRI Future Leader Fellowship, providing world class research in topics ranging from stellar explosions, medieval medical texts for modern medicines, synthetic biology and climate –related financial risks.

A 91¸£Àû researcher will be one of the first nine Stephen Hawking Fellows, announced today, who will continue Professor Stephen Hawking’s legacy by furthering our understanding of the universe and communicating the wonders of science to the public. They will tackle major scientific questions such as the nature of the early universe and dark matter and whether string theory really is a ‘theory of everything’, engaging with the public through stand-up comedy, art and music.

The majority of stars in the universe will become luminous enough to blast surrounding asteroids into successively smaller fragments using their light alone, according to a 91¸£Àû astronomer.

When it comes to the biggest and brightest explosions seen in the Universe, 91¸£Àû astronomers have found that it takes two stars to make a gamma-ray burst.

The first evidence of a giant planet orbiting a dead white dwarf star has been found in the form of a disc of gas formed from its evaporating atmosphere.

Using asteroseismology, a team including an astronomer from the 91¸£Àû, revised the parameters for two red-giant stars known to host exoplanets, and for one of them found that the planet should not exist in its current location based on current theories.