An international team that includes the University of Bath in the UK has discovered three ultra-massive galaxies (‘Red Monsters’) in the early Universe forming at unexpected speeds, challenging current models of galaxy formation.

Scientists using observations from NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory have discovered, for the first time, the signal from a pair of monster black holes disrupting a cloud of gas in the center of a galaxy.

The chances of intelligent life emerging in our Universe – and in any hypothetical ones beyond it – can be estimated by a new theoretical model which has echoes of the famous Drake Equation. This was the formula that American astronomer Dr Frank Drake came up with in the 1960s to calculate the number of detectable extraterrestrial civilisations in our Milky Way galaxy. More than 60 years on, astrophysicists led by Durham University have produced a different model which instead focuses on the conditions created by the acceleration of the Universe's expansion and the amount of stars formed.

The SETI Institute welcomed five new experts to its Science Advisory Board (SAB), broadening its scope in important scientific and ethical domains essential to understanding life and intelligence in the universe. The new members bring expertise in science communication, ethics and philosophy, animal cognition and intelligence, analysis of extraterrestrial materials, and planetary astronomy. Joining the SAB are: Jordan Bimm (University of Chicago), Chelsea Haramia (Spring Hill College and University of Bonn), Lori Marino (Whale Sanctuary Project and The Kimmela Center for Scholarship-based Animal Advocacy), Keiko Nakamura-Messenger (ExLabs LLC) and Quanzhi Ye (University of Maryland). 

“SETI is a multifaceted, truly interdisciplinary endeavor that brings unique challenges,” said Lucian Walkowicz, Chair, SETI Institute Science Advisory Board. “I’m excited to welcome our new Science Advisory Board members in helping the SETI Institute meet those challenges, broadening the scope of the Board with both depth of knowledge and creative thinking.”

Like the Earth, the Sun likely has swirling polar vortices, according to new research led by the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR). But unlike on Earth, the formation and evolution of these vortices are driven by magnetic fields.