The surface features of neutron stars are largely unknown. Nuclear theorists explored mountain building mechanisms active on the moons and planets in our solar system. Some of these mechanisms suggest that neutron stars are likely to have mountains. Neutron star mountains would be much more massive than any on Earth--so massive that gravity just from these mountains could produce ripples in the fabric of space and time.

A whitish, grey patch that sometimes appears in the night sky alongside the northern lights has been explained for the first time by researchers at the University of Calgary.

Dr John Coxon, esteemed member of Northumbria University’s world-leading Solar and Space Physics research group, has been recognised by the Royal Astronomical Society for his work.

A team led by researchers at the University of Tokyo have created a dataset of the whole atmosphere, enabling new research to be conducted on previously difficult-to-study regions. Using a new data-assimilation system called JAGUAR-DAS, which combines numerical modeling with observational data, the team created a nearly 20-yearlong set of data spanning multiple levels of the atmosphere from ground level up to the lower edges of space. Being able to study the interactions of these layers vertically and around the globe could improve climate modeling and seasonal weather forecasting. There is also potential for interdisciplinary research between atmospheric scientists and space scientists, to investigate the interplay between space and our atmosphere and how it affects us on Earth.  

Dark matter is a mysterious substance believed to hold galaxies together. Scientists have not yet proven that it exists. But a discovery led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) could help with finding dark matter. Dark matter is likely made up of particles and one possible particle is the hypothetical axion. One way to find axions is to show that light particles can move like them. If this behaviour could be observed, the likelihood that axions are real increases. Experiments by NTU Singapore-led scientists confirmed that light particles can behave like theoretical axions inside special crystal structures that they designed. These findings give researchers confidence that, one day, the crystals could be adapted to detect axions and, hopefully, unravel some of the universe’s greatest mysteries.