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European Radio Astronomy ConsortiumNewsletter Issue 06/2025
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MeerKAT, South Africa’s premier radio telescope, has successfully completed its first full Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observation with the European VLBI Network (EVN)—the world’s most sensitive VLBI system. This milestone marks a major advance in global radio astronomy, significantly boosting the resolution and sensitivity of observations. By integrating MeerKAT into EVN operations, researchers captured unprecedented detail of a plasma jet from a distant supermassive black hole. The collaboration demonstrates MeerKAT’s powerful role in enhancing VLBI networks and sets the stage for its future contributions to the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO). Coordinated by SARAO and JIVE, this achievement highlights the strength of international scientific partnerships. For more read the press release from JIVE here and from SARAO here. Illustration: Benito Marcote, JIVE. Image credits: MeerKAT image ©SARAO; EVN map image ©Paul Boven, JIVE (satellite image: Blue Marble Next Generation, courtesy of NASA Visible Earth). |
For the first time, astronomers have detected phosphorus-bearing molecules - key ingredients of DNA and RNA - in a cold, starless core, one of the earliest phases of star formation. Using the IRAM 30-meter and Yebes 40-meter telescopes, researchers identified phosphorus mononitride (PN), phosphorus monoxide (PO), and the phosphorus oxide ion (PO⁺) in a pristine interstellar cloud 1,000 light-years away in the Perseus region. This rare discovery, led by Samantha Scibelli (NRAO), offers vital clues about how life-essential elements become available to emerging planetary systems and suggests phosphorus chemistry begins much earlier in the star and planet formation process than previously thought. Read the full study in a paper, “First detections of PN, PO and PO+ toward a shocked low-mass starless core” published in ApJ Letters. Read the IRAM press realease here Image: Visual wavelength image of the Perseus molecular cloud. The starless core Pers326 is located in NGC 1333. Perseus is well-studied region of low-mass star formation in our Galaxy. Image credit: Adam Block. Originally published in Bally et al., 2008. |
A major new study using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has revealed how gas and dust evolve differently in planet-forming disks around young stars. The AGE-PRO survey—observing 30 disks of varying ages—provides the first systematic measurements of gas masses and chemistry over time, reshaping our understanding of how planets acquire their atmospheres. The study involved an international team and includes 12 papers published in a special issue of The Astrophysical Journal. Read the full press release here: ALMA Reveals Lives of Planet-Forming Disks Image: Artist’s concept of protoplanetary disk, like the thirty studied for the ALMA AGE-PRO survey. The lifetime of the gas within the disk determines the timescale for planetary growth. Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/S.Dagnello. |
The SKAO Science Meeting 2025 successfully concluded in Görlitz, Germany, bringing together over 600 participants from 26 countries in person and online. The week-long event featured more than 200 talks and 150 posters, highlighting global preparations for early science with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescopes. Participants discussed the latest developments in SKA construction, data tools, and science operations. For the first time, SKAO presented a detailed scientific timeline, with science verification set to begin in early 2027—a key milestone in accessing early SKAO data. The meeting also marked the first SKA science gathering in Germany, emphasising the country’s growing role in the project. Local outreach events engaged the public, while the upcoming second SKA science book was announced to reflect updated science goals. Read more. Image Credit: Credit: Paul Glaser/DESY/DZA |
With the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) nearing completion, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is preparing for its next major endeavour. Under the new Expanding Horizons initiative, ESO invites the global scientific community to propose a next-generation ground-based facility to be developed in the 2040s. The project could involve a new telescope, a major upgrade, or a hybrid approach. Proposals must align with ESO’s vision and demonstrate scientific impact, feasibility, sustainability, and potential for international collaboration.Key timeline:
• July 2024–2026: Preparatory phase with community workshops
• Q3 2026–June 2027: Call for Ideas (Letters of Intent due 1 Dec 2026)
• 2027–2028: Proposal review and community input
• Late 2028: Final decision by ESO Council
Find more here. |
The 10th International VLBI Technology Workshop (IVTW2025) will be held October 21–25, 2025, in Gothenburg, Sweden, hosted by Chalmers University of Technology and Onsala Space Observatory. The workshop will cover a broad range of topics in VLBI technology, including station systems, frontend/backend developments, recording and correlation techniques, image processing, RFI strategies, and future space VLBI missions. The program also includes a visit to the Chalmers cleanroom facility and the Onsala Space Observatory.
• Abstract submission deadline: September 1, 2025
• Registration fee: 1000 SEK (incl. VAT), covering meals, social events, and site visits
More information is available on the official workshop website |
The event will take place from October 31 to November 7, 2025, in Granada, Spain. The school offers a combination of lectures by experienced scientists and practical observing sessions with the 30-meter telescope. Topics include planetary atmospheres, interstellar chemistry, star formation, and extragalactic sources, along with instrumentation, observing techniques, and data processing. Participants will also work in small groups to carry out a complete observing project. The school is intended for researchers with limited prior experience in mm-astronomy and is limited to 40 selected participants. Registration is open until August 15, 2025
Learn more and register here |
POLICY NEWSOn June 17, 2025, the European Research Council (ERC) announced the results of the 2024 Advanced Grant Call. A total of 281 outstanding research projects have been selected for funding, with a combined budget of €721 million. The funded projects will be carried out at institutions across 23 European and associated countries, with the highest numbers in the UK (56 projects), Germany (35), Italy (25), the Netherlands (24), and France (23). Researchers of 32 nationalities are among the grantees, with particularly strong representation from Germany (45 researchers), Italy (37), the UK (26), and France (22). The call received 2,534 applications, resulting in a success rate of 11.4%. Of the applicants, 23.3% were women, and 0.1% identified as non-binary. Read the press release. The INSPIRING ERA project invites you to an in-person event on 9 July 2025, from 10:30 to 15:00, at the Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris. The exchange will explore the evolving landscape of EU copyright rules and data access rights in the context of AI-driven research. Bringing together experts from research, law, and policy, the event will address key challenges and opportunities for data sharing and reuse in the EU, aiming to develop practical policy recommendations. Find more here. The 3rd ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup took place on 10–11 June 2025 in Kraków, Poland, under the Polish EU Council Presidency. The event brought together stakeholders from across the research infrastructure landscape to explore strategies for enhancing sustainability, integration, and collaboration—particularly with technology infrastructures. Focusing on long-term sustainability, integration, and strategic cooperation, the meetup served as a platform to share ideas and best practices for strengthening Research Infrastructures. Key themes included promoting trust and collaboration among stakeholders, building effective synergies with Technology Infrastructures, and aligning policy frameworks to support an integrated and future-ready R&I ecosystem. Find more here. |
The Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) call for proposals is now open and the proposal submission deadline Friday, 18 July 2025 (18:00 CEST). Detailed information can be found in the Call for Proposals. |
The European ALMA Regional Centre (ARC) provides the interface between the ALMA project and the European science community. The ARC is staffed by scientists with expertise in radio astronomy and interferometry and it supports its users throughout the lifetime of a project, from proposal preparation to data analysis. |
ALTA offers to the world-wide astronomical community free virtual access to data and scientific products produced from all sky surveys of the Northern sky that will be conducted with the new Apertif frontend of the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), as well as tools to query, further exploit and perform data mining of these products adaptable to diverse research goals. . |
LTA is a long-established archive and access facility supporting the international LOFAR telescope. It is currently the largest radio astronomical archive in the world already exceeding 45 PB from LOFAR’s past 10 years of operations. The LTA provides a central and key resource for all observed LOFAR astronomical science programs where the data become public within 12 months of first creation. |
RadioNet - European Radio Astronomy Consortium
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