Latest news and comment Audience - Any Audience -AlumniIndustrySchools, prospective students and communityResearchUndergraduatesGraduatesDepartment of Physics (requires login) Research theme - Any Research theme -Accelerator physicsAstronomy and astrophysicsBiological physicsClimate physicsExoplanets and planetary physicsFields, strings, and quantum dynamicsFundamental particles and interactionsInstrumentationLasers and high energy density scienceParticle astrophysics & cosmologyPhotovoltaics and nanosciencePlasma physicsQuantum information and computationQuantum materialsQuantum optics & ultra-cold matter Sub-department - Any Sub-department -AstrophysicsAtmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary PhysicsAtomic and Laser PhysicsCondensed Matter PhysicsParticle PhysicsProfessional and support servicesRudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics Meteorite impacts reveal new insights into Mars Following two large meteorite impacts on Mars, near-surface seismic waves have been recorded for the first time on a planet other than Earth. 28 October 2022 Meet...Caroline Terquem We work among extraordinary people doing extraordinary things; get to know some of them by reading these quick-fire interviews. 6 October 2022 JWST detects carbon dioxide in exoplanet atmosphere NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the first definitive detection of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet beyond our solar system. 25 August 2022 Professor Pierrehumbert awarded Rumford Medal Professor Raymond Pierrehumbert has been awarded the Royal Society’s Rumford Medal 2022 for outstanding contributions in the field of physics. 24 August 2022 Commentary: Professor Neil Bowles on Comet Interceptor As the European Space Agency’s Comet Interceptor mission moves from design phase to implementation, Professor Neil Bowles gives an insight into what it’s like to be part of an ambitious, global initiative. 9 June 2022 Comet chaser mission one step closer to launch A new European Space Agency science mission, proposed by the UK, to 3D-map a comet for the first time has reached a major milestone, moving from the design phase to implementation. 8 June 2022 Scientists explain why Uranus and Neptune are different colours New research led by Professor Patrick Irwin from the Department of Physics at Oxford suggests that a layer of haze that exists on both planets is behind the different hues of blue. 31 May 2022 Icy moons simulated in Antarctica Scientists from the University of Oxford are field-testing seismic sensors in the bitter conditions of Antarctica to simulate the solar system’s icy moons. 9 February 2022 Dr Tim Lichtenberg recognised by RAS Dr Tim Lichtenberg has been awarded the Royal Astronomical Society’s Winton Award for Early Achievement in Geophysics for his work on understanding the growth and long-term evolution of rocky planets. 14 January 2022 Simulation accurately predicts oxygen in atmosphere of hottest known exoplanet A team including astrophysicist Dr Mitchell Young from Oxford University has detected the fingerprints of atomic oxygen in the atmosphere of the hottest known exoplanet, KELT-9b. 22 December 2021 Commentary: Pierrehumbert on Manabe and the Nobel Having followed in his footsteps at the Princeton Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Halley Professor of Physics Raymond Pierrehumbert reflects on Syukuro Manabe’s Nobel Prize-winning work 29 November 2021 Measuring the atmosphere 340 light-years away Commentary: Professor Vivien Parmentier explains how the unprecedented measurement of both oxygen and carbon atoms in an exoplanet atmosphere provides clues to understanding how planetary systems form. 27 October 2021 Load More
Meteorite impacts reveal new insights into Mars Following two large meteorite impacts on Mars, near-surface seismic waves have been recorded for the first time on a planet other than Earth. 28 October 2022
Meet...Caroline Terquem We work among extraordinary people doing extraordinary things; get to know some of them by reading these quick-fire interviews. 6 October 2022
JWST detects carbon dioxide in exoplanet atmosphere NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the first definitive detection of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet beyond our solar system. 25 August 2022
Professor Pierrehumbert awarded Rumford Medal Professor Raymond Pierrehumbert has been awarded the Royal Society’s Rumford Medal 2022 for outstanding contributions in the field of physics. 24 August 2022
Commentary: Professor Neil Bowles on Comet Interceptor As the European Space Agency’s Comet Interceptor mission moves from design phase to implementation, Professor Neil Bowles gives an insight into what it’s like to be part of an ambitious, global initiative. 9 June 2022
Comet chaser mission one step closer to launch A new European Space Agency science mission, proposed by the UK, to 3D-map a comet for the first time has reached a major milestone, moving from the design phase to implementation. 8 June 2022
Scientists explain why Uranus and Neptune are different colours New research led by Professor Patrick Irwin from the Department of Physics at Oxford suggests that a layer of haze that exists on both planets is behind the different hues of blue. 31 May 2022
Icy moons simulated in Antarctica Scientists from the University of Oxford are field-testing seismic sensors in the bitter conditions of Antarctica to simulate the solar system’s icy moons. 9 February 2022
Dr Tim Lichtenberg recognised by RAS Dr Tim Lichtenberg has been awarded the Royal Astronomical Society’s Winton Award for Early Achievement in Geophysics for his work on understanding the growth and long-term evolution of rocky planets. 14 January 2022
Simulation accurately predicts oxygen in atmosphere of hottest known exoplanet A team including astrophysicist Dr Mitchell Young from Oxford University has detected the fingerprints of atomic oxygen in the atmosphere of the hottest known exoplanet, KELT-9b. 22 December 2021
Commentary: Pierrehumbert on Manabe and the Nobel Having followed in his footsteps at the Princeton Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Halley Professor of Physics Raymond Pierrehumbert reflects on Syukuro Manabe’s Nobel Prize-winning work 29 November 2021
Measuring the atmosphere 340 light-years away Commentary: Professor Vivien Parmentier explains how the unprecedented measurement of both oxygen and carbon atoms in an exoplanet atmosphere provides clues to understanding how planetary systems form. 27 October 2021