The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its headquarters are in Burlington House, on Piccadilly in London. The society has over 4,000 members ("Fellows"), most of them professional researchers or postgraduate students. Around a quarter of Fellows live outside the UK.The society holds monthly scientific meetings in London, and the annual National Astronomy Meeting at varying locations in the British Isles. The RAS publishes the scientific journals Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and Geophysical Journal International, along with the trade magazine Astronomy & Geophysics.The RAS maintains an astronomy research library, engages in public outreach and advises the UK government on astronomy education. The society recognises achievement in astronomy and geophysics by issuing annual awards and prizes, with its highest award being the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. The RAS is the UK adhering organisation to the International Astronomical Union and a member of the UK Science Council.The society was founded in 1820 as the Astronomical Society of London to support astronomical research. At that time, most members were 'gentleman astronomers' rather than professionals. It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving a Royal Charter from William IV. A Supplemental Charter in 1915 opened up the fellowship to women.
The search for life beyond Earth presents unique challenges for science communication due to its interdisciplinary nature, the potential for groundbreaking discoveries, and the inherent uncertainties involved. The Lorentz Center workshop Breaking News: We Found Extraterrestrial Life! brought together scientists, historians, philosophers, science journalists, and press information officers to reflect on these challenges. The event took place from the 2nd to the 6th of September 2024 in Leiden, the Netherlands. The goal was to prepare the community for different future scenarios of life detection. Participants aimed to develop strategies to communicate research results properly with the public. We provide here a synthesis of the discussions and conclusions reached during the event. To summarize, effective communication about the search for life elsewhere requires balancing scientific rigor with public engagement. To build public trust and understanding, it is essential to set realistic expectations, avoid sensationalism, and promote transparency. By using clear and accessible language, addressing ethical considerations, and managing expectations, we can communicate the complexities of astrobiology research effectively to a broad audience. Additionally, fostering critical thinking, encouraging independent verification, and tailoring communication for different audiences can help ensure that astrobiology discoveries are understood, appreciated, and used responsibly.
TOI-1232 is a G dwarf star with a mass of 1.06(-0.06)(+0.07)M(circle dot) , a radius of 1.07 +/- 0.05 R-circle dot, and a slightly higher metallicity than solar of Fe/H = 0.18 +/- 0.05. The star hosts a transiting warm Jovian-mass planet, TOI-1232 b, with an orbital period of P-b=14.256(-0.001)(+0.001 )days, identified with data from multiple sectors of the TESS space telescope. The TESS light curve of TOI-1232 is complex, as it is contaminated by a background eclipsing binary with a period of 1.37 days. TOI-1232 b was firmly confirmed by ground-based transit follow-up campaigns from the Las Cumbres, Hazelwood, Brierfield, and ASTEP observatories. Additionally, the TESS transits of TOI-1232 b exhibit strong transit-timing variations (TTVs) with a superperiod of 235.5 +/- 0.7 days and a semiamplitude of 27 minutes. Radial velocity (RV) follow-up with the FEROS spectrograph confirms the planetary nature of the transiting candidate, while a self-consistent N-body analysis of RVs and TTVs pinpoints the presence of a second outer Saturn-mass companion, TOI-1232 c with a period of P-c=30.356(-0.012)(+0.010) days. The TOI-1232 warm-giant system is particularly important due to the evidence of two massive planets that reside near the 2:1 commensurability but are not locked in a mean-motion resonance. Thanks to TESS, we have revealed a handful of these rare systems. Hence, TOI-1232 is an important addition to understanding the formation and dynamical evolution of such compact, massive, warm giant planets.
The most precise available photometric data for Cepheid stars has been published by the Riess team at John Hopkins University. The derived distances are compared to Gaia parallax distances of the same stars. The two distances do not agree. The mathematics produces two valid solutions for this data and the two are compared. The Riess team reduced all the Gaia parallaxes by ten micro arc-seconds to achieve agreement. The solution adopted here assumes the Gaia parallax values are correct. The mathematics indicates that the difference between the parallax and the photometrically derived distances precisely matches a uniform extinction term. This extinction term slightly changes the absolute magnitude of the Cepheids and equates the Hubble constant derived by the Riess team with the CMB value. The extinction removes most of the support for the Riess team value of the Hubble constant. A search for the cause of the extinction shows that dark matter explains all the values of the Hubble constant that disagree with the Planck value. It also explains the recent time increase in the rate of expansion of the Universe. The discussion conjectures how dark matter could absorb light and explores the conjecture.
Abstract Black hole–neutron star (BHNS) mergers are important sources of gravitational waves (GWs) and potential electromagnetic counterparts, but publicly available numerical relativity configurations for these systems remain limited. In this work, we present a fully reproducible BHNS merger simulation performed exclusively with official Einstein Toolkit thorns and configured to target the detected event GW230529 . We evolve the system at three resolutions, with finest grid spacings of 162 , 222 , and 310 m, and assess the numerical robustness of the resulting dynamics and GW signal. The entire setup, from initial data to a parameter file with some of the analysis scripts, is publicly released as a new Einstein Toolkit gallery example and is distributed as part of the Hypatia release, establishing a reference BHNS merger configuration within the Einstein Toolkit.
