Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge

The Institute of Astronomy (IoA) is the largest of the University of Cambridge’s three astronomy departments, with around 180 academics, postdocs, visitors and staff on Madingley Road. It was formed in 1972 by merging the University Observatory (1823), the Solar Physics Observatory (1912) and Fred Hoyle’s Institute of Theoretical Astronomy (1967). The Kavli Institute for Cosmology Cambridge, which focuses on the high-redshift universe, shares the site.

Main research areas

• Exoplanets.
• Stars and star clusters.
• Cosmology and the high-redshift universe.
• Gravitational-wave astronomy.
• Active galactic nuclei and galaxy clusters.

The IoA’s now-decommissioned Automatic Plate Measuring (APM) machine produced a major catalogue of the northern sky.

Recent results

The IoA’s most debated recent paper is the 2023 JWST study of K2-18 b, led by Nikku Madhusudhan, the institute’s Professor of Astrophysics and Exoplanetary Science. It detected methane and carbon dioxide in the planet’s hydrogen-rich atmosphere and argued for a possible ocean world, along with a tentative hint of dimethyl sulfide. That hint, and later claims, are disputed and unconfirmed: other teams find the data consistent with a gas-rich planet without a habitable surface. The debate is shaping how the field will judge any claimed biosignature. Cambridge’s earlier landmarks include the 1967-1968 discovery of pulsars with a radio array at the university.

What to watch, 2026-2030

Our sources list no dated IoA milestones. For its exoplanet researchers, the next big data come from JWST’s Cycle 5 (July 2026 to June 2027) and, from 2030, the Extremely Large Telescope.

Why scientists are converging here

Exoplanet atmospheres and astrobiology are where attention is moving fastest. In our Research Pulse count, “exoplanet atmosphere” appeared in 39% more astro-ph abstracts from April to September 2026 than in the previous six months, “biosignature” in 24% more (46 against 37) and “sub-Neptune” in 18% more. Abstract mentions are a proxy for attention, not results, and K2-18 b shows why careful statistics matter in this field.