Maynooth University joined the Mauve Science Programme as a member in August 2025 after receiving funding from Research Ireland.
A team of researchers from Maynooth University will study how stars and planets form using a new ultraviolent telescope that launched into space last week.
Mauve, a small ultraviolet telescope developed by UK’s Blue Skies Space was launched on a satellite aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-15 on 28 November.
The satellite is on a three-year mission to study how stars behave and how their activity influences the habitability of distant exoplanets.
Maynooth University joined the Mauve Science Programme as a member in August 2025 after receiving funding from Research Ireland. Now, a research team from the University’s Department of Physics, led by Dr Emma Whelan, will use Mauve to investigate how stars and planets form.
Their research will focus on a class of young stars called ‘Herbig Ae/Be stars’, which are in the critical stage of development before they begin hydrogen fusion to become ‘main sequence stars’ such as the Sun. Around 90pc of stars in the Universe are currently are categorised as main sequence stars.
Whelan’s team will study the young stars’ brightness over long periods to identify variability and search for signs of early planet formation.
The team plans to build light curves for a large sample of these stars, tracking how their brightness changes daily for up to three months. They believe comparing this data to observations of less massive stars could provide insights into whether large young stars form and develop planets in the same way Sun-like stars do.
Dr Emma Whelan. Image: Maynooth University
“I am very excited to be embarking on this adventure with Mauve and eagerly anticipate the research opportunities it will bring,” Whelan said.
“Until now, my work has primarily relied on ground-based eight-metre-class telescopes, so Mauve represents an exciting new direction for me. Its monitoring capabilities will provide a fresh window on star formation and offer valuable new insights.”
Several other research institutions including Boston University, Columbia University, INAF’s Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Konkoly Observatory and Kyoto University have also subscribed to access Mauve’s data.
The telescope was developed by Blue Skies Space and built by a consortium of European companies, including Hungary’s C3S LLC and the Netherlands’ ISISPACE in less than three years.
It weighs around 18kg, with dimensions similar to a suitcase, and carries a 13cm telescope that observes both ultraviolet and visible light.
“Mauve will open a new window on stellar activity that has previously been largely hidden from view,” said Prof Giovanna Tinetti, the chief scientist and co-founder of Blue Skies Space.
“By observing stars in ultraviolet light, wavelengths that can’t be studied from Earth, we’ll gain a much deeper understanding of how stars behave and how their flares may impact the environment of orbiting exoplanets. Traditional ground-based telescopes just can’t capture this information, so a satellite like Mauve is crucial for furthering our knowledge.”
Last year, a study co-authored by Maynooth University’s Dr Patrick Kavanagh revealed what was left over from the first-ever recorded supernova event in four centuries.
More recently, a University of St Andrews study found that giant free-floating planets could make their own miniature planetary systems without needing a star to orbit around.
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