Abstract We introduce the incoming president of the Royal Astronomical Society, who took over in May, and hear about his plans for the Society's future
Abstract Yet another STFC funding crisis threatens the future success of both our research community and the national economy
A speculative search in the right place at the right time turned up what is thought to be the only image of the eponymous solar observer.
As AI transforms science and society, we explore a near future in which astronomical data becomes a valuable commodity
Report on the RAS Specialist Discussion Meeting about one of the grand challenges for Earth system scientists
Report on the RAS Specialist Discussion Meeting looking at the use of historic observatories in bringing astronomy alive for the wider public
Report on the third meeting called to discuss Type Ia supernovae, their diversity and their use as cosmological distance indicators
How our understanding of the Sun's influence on Earth has evolved and how studies of exoplanets promise to place it in a wider astrophysical context
Abstract Setting out the overall concept of a potentially game-changing new tool for geophysics
How the latest National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2025) reimagined the academic conference
Abstract Contributions to planetary auroral studies, focusing on the scientific background and recent findings
Exploring the challenges and rewards of a multinational seafloor seismology experiment across the mid-Eastern-Atlantic
Astrophysics is a social enterprise exemplified here by the Dark Energy Survey (DES) which completed its fieldwork in 2019 after 16 years of preparation and observation, while data analysis continues. Society funds astrophysics on a grand scale. For human capital and for governance the discipline draws on a self-governing "republic of science", while the funds were provided by philanthropists in the past, and by governments today. The benefits accrue initially to scientists themselves, in the form of a rewarding vocation. For the social benefit it is tempting to apply formal cost benefit analysis, but that approach ignores the option value of science and imposes questionable assumptions from welfare economics. Astrophysics generates some useful spinoffs, offers attractive careers, appeals to the popular imagination, speaks to metaphysical cravings and constitutes a good in itself. The rise of AI also suggests a role in exploring future habitats for intelligence and cognition.
