Astronomers have discovered a third exoplanet orbiting a young star known as Beta Pictoris – located around 63 light years away from Earth – a study reveals.
The newly discovered planet, called Beta Pictoris d, is 100 times fainter than Beta Pictoris b – the first planet to be discovered in the system.
Researchers also found that the newcomer has a much wider orbit than its planetary friends - Beta Pictoris b and Beta Pictoris c. Moreover, while the first two planets are each around ten times the mass of Jupiter, Beta Pictoris d is only 2.4 times more massive than Jupiter, making it one of the lightest ever planets imaged from the ground.
An international team of scientists, including researchers from Edinburgh’s Institute for Astronomy, uncovered the faint planet in new images from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) in Chile, as well as in more than a decade’s worth of archive data.
The team initially wanted to take a closer look at Beta Pictoris b, to observe how it had changed over time. However, when they started analysing the images of the system, they noticed something else that led the team down an entirely new path.
Astronomers first detected Beta Pictoris d using ERIS – a powerful infrared camera mounted on ESO’s VLT – and built by the Science and Technology Council’s Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) based in Edinburgh.
To confirm the nature of their detection, the team looked through ESO’s archive of past observations and found the new planet, Beta Pictoris d, in multiple images dating back as far as 11 years ago.
Related research
An independent team led by the University of California also detected Beta Pictoris d using the James Webb Space Telescope. Their findings are published alongside these results in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The discovery brings the total number of known planets in the Beta Pictoris system to three. Making it only the second system where more than two planets have been directly imaged along with the star HR 8799.
The research highlights how cutting-edge instrumentation, combined with astronomical archives spanning decades, can uncover worlds that have remained hidden in plain sight.
The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, was chiefly funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.
Dr Ben Sutlieff, study co-lead and Postdoctoral Research Associate, Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, said:
This was a serendipitous discovery. Star systems with multiple imaged exoplanets are the ‘holy grails’ of discoveries because they can teach us a lot about what different exoplanets are like in the same formation environment.
Professor Beth Biller, co-lead of the paper and Personal Chair of Exoplanet Characterisation, University of Edinburgh, said:
Planets seem to have friends. Many of the famous directly imaged exoplanet systems seem to have multiple giant planets in the same system. It is likely there are even more lower mass planets hiding in these systems that might be revealed in future.
Markus Bonse, ESO astronomer and other co-lead of the study, recalls saying when looking at the data:
There’s something else there, did you see it? The new planet is 100 times fainter than Beta Pictoris b, the famous planet in the same system, making it the faintest exoplanet ever imaged directly from Earth.
William Taylor, instrument scientist at UK ATC, said:
Detecting a planet this faint next to a much brighter star is an immense technical challenge, and it is rewarding to see an instrument we built here in Edinburgh helping astronomers uncover new worlds.
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Astronomers, engineers and public engagement professionals brought Euclid: The Dark Universe Detective to more than 10,000 visitors at this year’s Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.
The Royal Society chose to showcase the latest research from the European Space Agency (ESA)’s Euclid space telescope at its prestigious annual Summer Science Exhibition. The free, public event, which took place from 30 June to 5 July, invited world leading researchers from universities and science institutions from across the UK to showcase the latest cutting-edge science and research through hands-on activities, talks and interactive exhibits.
Led by the University of Edinburgh, in partnership with the University of Sussex and The Open University, the exhibit told the story of the Euclid mission as a ‘dark Universe detective’, shedding light on the mystery of missing matter. By mapping the sky in incredible detail, Euclid will uncover cosmic clues that will reveal information about the nature of dark matter and dark energy, helping scientists understand how the Universe evolved.
Through a series of interactives, visitors had the opportunity to journey through the visible and dark Universe, search for hidden dark matter, become massive cosmic objects to warp spacetime, make citizen science discoveries of gravitational lenses and zoom endlessly into Euclid’s stunning images of space!
The exhibition also featured some fantastic talks and performances. Professor Andy Taylor, from the University of Edinburgh, who leads the UK’s Euclid data analysis team and the mission’s gravitational lensing data analysis, was in conversation with Dr Will Coulton for ‘Cosmic Detectives’, chaired by Professor Lucie Green. An incredible drag reinterpretation of the Euclid mission was performed by Charlie Wood for ‘A queer tour of the Summer Science Exhibition’.
The exhibition showcased the breadth of research and public engagement talent, from MSc Science Communication and PhD students to postdocs and senior professors. It also highlighted the benefits of collaboration between internal colleagues across the University, and external partners, including other Universities, science centres and cultural institutions.
James Fawcett, Euclid UK Public Engagement Lead based at the University of Edinburgh, said:
This is a really exciting time for the Euclid space telescope, with our national outreach programme growing just as the first cosmological results from the mission approach ever closer! I’m looking forward to seeing how our attendance at Summer Science can be the catalyst that extends our reach even further.
Euclid: The Dark Universe Detective will tour flagship events and science festivals in the coming months ahead of the space telescope’s first data release in the autumn and some exciting cosmological results which are expected next summer. Learn more in the link below, which also contains an online exhibition.
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A dazzling interstellar comet which recently visited Earth’s Solar System could be much older than the sun, a study reveals.
The research shines new light on the history of the comet – known as 31/ATLAS – as well its origins and composition.
A team of astronomers, led by the University of Edinburgh in partnership with the Universities of Liège, Belgium and Helsinki used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) to study 31/ATLAS’s chemical makeup.
The findings indicate that the comet is around 12 billion years old and was formed outside of our own Solar System.
31/ATLAS
Interstellar comets are icy bodies that were formed outside our solar system and occasionally pass through our planetary system on an open trajectory before exiting back into deep space.
They are thought to hold material from the time when the Sun and our planets were forming.
3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar comet ever discovered, after scientists discovered comets 1I/ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
It was found as it was approaching the Sun, spending enough time in our Solar System for the team to study it in detail.
While it was difficult to measure the composition of the first two comets – in 1I/ʻOumuamua astronomers didn’t detect any gas and 2I/Borisov was too faint – this was not the case for 3I/ATLAS.
Brilliant radiance
Thanks to its unprecedented brightness, the team were able to measure the ratios of carbon and nitrogen isotopes found within the cyanide molecules present in the gas surrounding the comet.
These ratios are known to be good indicators of a comet’s origin, as they are sensitive to the physical conditions of the environment in which the comet was formed and are not expected to change much as the comet travels through space, experts say.
Related research
A similar study, led by NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre and published in Nature found a similar isotopic ratio of carbon, as well as elevated levels of deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen. The study used data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and was a joint project between the US, European and Canadian space agencies.
Cosmic findings
The current paper, published in Nature Astronomy, indicate that 3I/ATLAS likely formed around an old, low-metallicity star. This star is thought to have formed when the Universe was much younger and less chemically rich than it is now.
The team concluded that 3I/ATLAS therefore originated around a star much older than the Sun.
Dr Cyrielle Opitom, from the School of Physics and Asronomy, said:
The field of interstellar comets is still very new, and we don’t really know what to expect. Every time a new one is discovered, we have new surprises. However, these results are very encouraging and could hold the key to a better understanding of the variety of conditions in which the formation of planetesimals – the building blocks of planets – happen.
Astronomers in Edinburgh join colleagues around the world celebrating the start of the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).
The night of 29 June saw the start of the Rubin LSST, an astronomical sky survey that has been dubbed “the cosmic movie” because of the unprecedented time-resolved view of the Universe that it will provide.
For the next ten years, the LSST will capture the entire southern sky to create an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of our Universe. This movie will help us solve some of the Universe’s biggest mysteries – such as the nature of dark energy, and the evolution of the solar system, Milky Way, and galaxies across cosmic time.
As a major international partner of the US-led Rubin Observatory, UK’s involvement is facilitated through a multi-million-pound investment by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Formed in 2014, the LSST:UK Consortium is made up of 36 partner institutions representing all major UK astronomy research groups. Researchers and software developers across the UK are addressing scientific and technical challenges posed by this revolutionary observatory.
During its 10-year survey, Rubin will catalogue an estimated 17 billion stars and 20 billion galaxies, plus millions of events that change in the sky each night. With the survey expected to create up to 500 petabytes of data in its lifetime, the UK is playing a significant role in the management and processing of this unprecedented dataset. The UK's LSST data facility will process 25% of the data from Rubin, turning raw images of the sky into the calibrated data products with which astronomers can do science, and will operate an Edinburgh-based data centre capable of supporting analysis of those data products by 20% of the international LSST community.
The Edinburgh data centre also hosts the Lasair event broker, a sophisticated software system supporting the near-real-time analysis of the alerts that Rubin issues whenever it detects a moving or time-varying celestial source. This alert stream - which can comprise millions of alerts per night and which includes a wide range of astrophysical objects, from nearby asteroids to distant supernovae - started flowing in February, ahead of today's formal start of the 10-year LSST.
Professor Bob Mann, Professor of Survey Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh, is the Project Leader for UK participation in the Rubin LSST: He said:
Today marks the start of the 10-year LSST, but it is more like the mid-point of our UK project. Researchers in the UK have been preparing for more than a decade for the data that is starting to flow today and the contributions we are making will enhance the science that can be done with it over the coming decade or more by astronomers around the world.
Professor Grahame Blair, Executive Director of Programmes at STFC, said:
Today marks the beginning of a new era in astronomy. Together with our partners, UK scientists, engineers and software experts, STFC is excited to be part of one of the most ambitious scientific projects ever undertaken. The discoveries made over the next decade will inspire future generations, deepen our understanding of the cosmos, and reinforce the UK's position at the forefront of astronomical research.
Congratulations to Prof Davide Michieletto on securing an ERC Proof of Concept Grant.
Prof Davide Michieletto has been awarded a highly competitive European Research Council (ERC) Proof of Concept (PoC) Grant to explore the innovation potential of research arising from his ERC-funded project on “Topologically Active Polymers”, a new area of research at the interface of soft matter physics and biology.
The ERC Proof of Concept Grant is available exclusively to researchers who already hold an ERC award and aims to help transform frontier research discoveries into societal and commercial innovations. The funding supports researchers in verifying and developing the innovation potential of ideas emerging from their ERC-funded work by funding activities such as experimentation, technical validation, intellectual property assessment, and collaboration with industrial, policy, or societal stakeholders.
Prof Michieletto's grant will support the technical and commercial development of DNA nanotechnology aimed at solving outstanding challenges in early cancer diagnostic.
By supporting the next stage of development, the ERC Proof of Concept Grant will help position the project for future translation into practical applications, products and commercial ventures, in turn maximising the impact of the original ERC-funded research.
Brian Murphy and Richard Cannon receive the prize in recognition of their proposal to expand planetary defence to humanity’s new frontiers.
The winning proposal, Untold Threats: A Worldwide Call to Defend New Frontiers, was developed by Brian Murphy and Richard Cannon who are based in the School’s Institute for Astronomy. Their work highlights emerging threats posed by meteoroid storms, asteroid ejecta, lunar impacts, and other hazards that could jeopardise the rapidly expanding ecosystem of satellites, communications systems, lunar infrastructure, and future space-based industries.
The proposal calls for establishing an International Commission on Space Infrastructure Resilience (ICSIR) to investigate these risks and develop recommendations for the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Ultimately, the authors envision creating a permanent international coordinating body, termed WARDEN (Warning-network for Asset Resilience from Dusts, Ejecta, and NEOs), to complement existing planetary defence organisations and coordinate the protection of humanity’s assets beyond Earth.
Brian Murphy said:
As civilisation becomes increasingly dependent on infrastructure in Earth orbit and cislunar space, we believe planetary defence must evolve accordingly. Our work seeks to ensure that humanity’s future expansion into space remains safe, sustainable, and resilient. We are deeply honoured to receive the Schweickart Prize and hope this proposal sparks broader international conversations about protecting these new frontiers.
The Schweickart Prize, a program of B612 Foundation, is an annual award that fosters a new generation of leaders in planetary defence and encourages ideas to help protect Earth from potential asteroid impacts. The prize is named after Russell “Rusty” Schweickart, Apollo 9 astronaut, co-founder of the Association of Space Explorers, and co-founder of B612.
B612 Foundation is a United States-based nonprofit, founded in 2002, which develops tools and technologies to understand, map, and navigate our solar system and protect our planet from asteroid impacts through its Asteroid Institute program and supporting educational programs.
Danica Remy, President of B612 said:
Rusty Schweickart taught us that planetary defence is ultimately an act of stewardship. This year’s winning proposal challenges us to think beyond protecting Earth alone and to consider how we safeguard the infrastructure and communities humanity will build throughout the Earth-Moon system. It is exactly the kind of bold, forward-looking thinking the Schweickart Prize was created to encourage.
Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9 astronaut and co-founder emeritus of B612 Foundation said:
As human activity and vital interests rapidly expand into regions beyond the protective shield of our atmosphere, the number of passing objects capable of causing serious damage to both life and critical infrastructure increases dramatically. Our Schweickart Prize winners this year have called for a comprehensive and systematic examination of this emerging reality.
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Leading physicists and astronomers gathered in Westminster this week to voice concerns over proposed reductions to UK research funding that could have significant consequences for astronomy, particle physics and nuclear physics.
Among those attending a parliamentary drop-in session on 15 June were particle physicist and science presenter Professor Brian Cox, University of Oxford astrophysicist and YouTuber Dr Becky Smethurst, The Sky at Night presenter Professor Chris Lintott, and Astronomer Royal for Scotland and University of Edinburgh Professor of Astrophysics Catherine Heymans. The event was organised by the Royal Astronomical Society and brought together early career researchers and senior academics from across the UK to discuss the potential impact of planned cuts to science funding.
Earlier this year, the Science and Technology Facilities Council announced proposals that could reduce spending on astronomy, particle physics and nuclear physics by as much as 30 per cent over the coming years. Researchers warn that the cuts could affect dozens of major international projects and disproportionately impact early-career scientists.
Particular concern has been raised about the impact on the next generation of researchers. A recent survey found that nearly 80 per cent of early-career researchers are considering leaving the UK following the funding proposals, while only a small minority would currently recommend the UK as a destination for scientific research (see link below).
Professor Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal for Scotland, and Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh's School of Physics and Astronomy said:
When it comes to Nobel Prize-winning discoveries and the UK being a scientific giant on the world stage, this short-sighted decision is likely to leave us as a bit-part, minority player in a number of major international projects, with our reputation in tatters. Worse still, we risk losing a generation of young scientists, all for the sake of saving less than 1 per cent of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) budget.
The proposed reductions could affect 48 UK-funded projects, including internationally significant collaborations such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider.
The UK plays a leading role in both facilities. Researchers contribute to the development of cutting-edge instrumentation, data analysis and international collaborations that drive major discoveries about the Universe. Researchers warn that reductions in funding could limit the UK's ability to fulfil existing commitments and maintain its position as a global leader in physics research.
As discussions continue, researchers across the UK are emphasising the importance of sustained investment in fundamental science to support future discoveries, innovation and skills development.
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Scientists have uncovered an unexpected mechanism that a key stem cell protein uses to regulate genes.
The study, led by researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow, suggests that genes can be regulated - not only through chemical signals - but also through the physical organisation and movement of DNA itself.
Embryonic stem cells are the body's ultimate shape-shifters, capable of developing into any tissue. To maintain this flexible, blank-slate state, they rely on a protein called NANOG. Although scientists have known for years that NANOG binds to DNA, exactly how it influences gene activity has remained a mystery.
The research team discovered that NANOG molecules spontaneously assemble into sticky clusters that behave much like the rough side of a Velcro strip. When these rough hooks encounter DNA strands (the soft loop side), they latch on and cross-link multiple strands simultaneously, effectively creating a connected network. This interaction transforms what would otherwise be a fluid mixture of NANOG protein and DNA into a think gel-like material, changing the physical properties of the material.
The team also discovered that the NANOG-DNA network becomes increasingly rigid over time. As the structure ages, it develops a form of ‘mechanical memory’, making the DNA progressively less mobile and potentially helping cells maintain their identity over extended periods.
Rather than acting solely as chemical messengers, proteins such as NANOG may also function as architects of the genome, organizing DNA into structures that influence how genes behave.
The discovery opens a new avenue for understanding stem cell biology and could have implications for regenerative medicine, developmental biology, and diseases in which cellular identity becomes disrupted.
Scientists explored whether a future space mission can detect habitable conditions through the presence of liquid water.
A future space mission called the Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE) is in development to search for life beyond the Solar System. This mission would use mid-infrared interferometry to study Earth-like exoplanets and search for classic biosignature gases like ozone and methane. Researchers investigated its ability to map out habitable planets, by determining which ones have stable liquid water on the surface.
Water is considered a key ingredient for life, making it a prime target in the search for habitable worlds. While visible-light telescopes may attempt to directly detect oceans through reflected sunlight, LIFE would instead look for the infrared signatures of water vapor in planetary atmospheres.
To test the mission’s capabilities, the team modelled Earth-like planets with water abundances ranging from extremely dry (Mars-like), to water-rich planets. They simulated how LIFE would observe these planets in the mid-infrared and then performed Bayesian atmospheric retrievals to determine how accurately water abundance could be inferred.
A key focus was how the amount of water vapor in an atmosphere varies with altitude, and three profiles were tested: a vertically constant water profile, an Earth-like profile where water decreases with altitude because of condensation and precipitation, and a diffusion and photochemistry profile, where upper-atmosphere water is controlled by transport and chemical reactions.
The team found that the ability for LIFE to detect water largely depends on the vertical profile assumed.
Planets with very little atmospheric water—comparable to Mars—would likely remain undetectable. At the opposite extreme, planets with extremely water-rich atmospheres could also prove challenging. In those cases, water vapor absorbs so much infrared radiation that it masks its own spectral signatures. The planets which produced the clearest atmospheric signatures are those where water levels are similar to those of Earth.
Thus, water detectability follows a ‘Goldilocks’ principle: too little water is invisible, too much water hides itself, and intermediate levels are easiest to characterise.
The researchers also discovered that assumptions about how water is distributed vertically in an atmosphere significantly affect the results. Simplified models often assume water is evenly mixed throughout the atmosphere, but more realistic Earth-like profiles show water concentrations decreasing with altitude because of condensation and precipitation. These physically realistic profiles allowed LIFE to detect water over a much wider range of conditions.
Although LIFE cannot directly image oceans, detecting water vapor in the atmosphere may be strong evidence for surface liquid water, since water is chemically reactive and would otherwise be removed by interactions with rocks and minerals.
The study concludes that LIFE should be capable of identifying atmospheric water, and this could make it one of the most powerful tools yet developed for identifying potentially habitable worlds beyond our Solar System.
The UK’s national academy of sciences announces new Fellows.
Over 90 outstanding researchers from across the world have been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society this year.
Among the list of elected Fellows is Professor Neil Turok FRS, Higgs Chair of Theoretical Physics, based in the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh.
Contributions to Theoretical Physics and the Globalisation of Science
Neil undertook studies in Cambridge and London and has held appointments as Professor of Physics at Princeton, Chair of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge and Director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Ontario, Canada.
Neil develops and tests theories of the universe and its basic laws, from the Big Bang to the far future. Several of his team’s predictions have been confirmed, including correlations between the distribution of galaxies and the cosmic microwave background radiation. He has recently proposed a new paradigm for cosmology, connecting particles and forces to dark matter, dark energy and primordial density variations. Its predictions will be tested in the coming decade.
In 2003, Neil founded the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), now Africa’s largest centre for postgraduate training and research in the mathematical sciences. Currently, AIMS operates six centres of excellence, in South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon and Rwanda. AIMS has over 4,000 Master’s and 1,000 PhD alumni. In the coming decade, AIMS plans to open four additional centres of excellence and to graduate 10,000 students at Master’s level and beyond.
For his research and for founding AIMS, Neil was awarded a TED Prize in 2008. In 2016, he was awarded the John Torrence Tate award of the American Institute of Physics for international leadership in physics. He is an Honorary Fellow of the UK Institute of Physics, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Mission of the Royal Society
The Royal Society’s fundamental purpose, reflected in its founding Charters of the 1660s, is to recognise, promote and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.
Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, said:
I am delighted to welcome this newest group of exceptional scientists to the Fellowship of the Royal Society. Their contributions reflect the highest standards of scientific endeavour. Whether advancing our understanding of vaccines or exploring the transformative potential of mathematics and computation, their work exemplifies the enduring value of curiosity, creativity and rigorous inquiry. Our Fellowship is strengthened not only by individual distinction, but by the diversity of perspectives and experiences its members bring. This incoming cohort highlights the truly international character of contemporary science and underscores the vital role that plays in achieving breakthroughs that benefit us all.
The Fellows and Foreign Members join the ranks of Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Dorothy Hodgkin.