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European Radio Astronomy ConsortiumNewsletter Issue 10/2025
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An international team has used the NOEMA interferometer to detect the thermal Sunyaev–Zel’dovich effect in the distant galaxy cluster CL J1226.9+3332, nearly 7 billion light-years away (Muñoz-Echeverría et al., 2025). NOEMA’s high-resolution maps reveal a flat gas pressure profile (evidence the cluster is still settling after past mergers) tracing gas from 15 kpc to 1.5 Mpc and shedding light on how galaxies, black holes, and feedback shape cosmic structures. Read the full NOEMA press release. Image: Thermal Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (tSZ) effect detected by NOEMA toward the distant galaxy cluster CL J1226.9+3332. The dark blue and black region at the centre shows the tSZ signal, a dimming of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) caused by scattering from the hot electrons that fill the cluster. These high-resolution NOEMA observations trace the pressure of the intracluster gas down to scales of about 15 kpc, revealing a surprisingly flat pressure profile in the cluster’s core. (see publication). |
An international team using the EVN, e-MERLIN, GBT, and VLBA has detected a mysterious dark object in a distant galaxy via its gravitational lensing - the lowest-mass object ever found by this method. Correlated at JIVE and published in Nature Astronomy and MNRAS Letters, the study demonstrates the power of global radio networks to uncover unseen cosmic matter. Read more on the JIVE website. Image: Overlay of the infrared emission (black and white) with the radio emission (colour). The dark, low-mass object is located at the gap in the bright part of the arc on the right-hand side, but is not luminous at infrared or radio wavelengths. The zoom in shows the pinch in the luminous radio arc, where the extra mass from the dark object is gravitationally ‘imaged’ using the sophisticated modelling algorithms of the team. The dark object is indicated by the white blob at the pinch point of the arc, but no light from it has so far been detected at optical, infrared or radio wavelengths. Image credit: Keck/EVN/GBT/VLBA. |
An international team led by Peking University and ASTRON has discovered a new kind of radio emission from the red dwarf AD Leo (Zhang et al., Science Advances 2025). Using China’s FAST telescope, they detected millisecond bursts sweeping at 8 GHz per second - far faster than expected -revealing tiny magnetic arches on starspots that drive stellar flares and influence nearby exoplanets. Read ASTRON press release. Image: FAST detects radio bursts from small, active magnetic arches on red dwarf AD Leo. |
A new study led by the University of Würzburg and MPIfR used high-resolution 43 GHz VLBI to probe the nearby galaxy NGC 1052. The team found a compact source confirming a low-luminosity AGN and discovered a previously unseen third spiral arm, offering new clues to the galaxy’s evolution. Part of the observations were conducted using GMVA, with antennas which are supported by RadioNet funding. These high-resolution observations were crucial in identifying the compact nuclear source and studying the symmetric jet structure of NGC 1052. Read more in Astronomy & Astrophysics, DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202555568. Image: High-resolution VLBI imaging of NGC 1052 revealing the compact nuclear source and symmetric jet structure (adapted from original publication). |
The European VLBI Network (EVN) continues its successful series of online seminars, highlighting the power of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) in modern astronomy. The next seminar will be held on 6 November 2025 at 11:00 CET, presented by Prof. Miguel Pérez-Torres (IAA-CSIC): “New and exciting transient sources unveiled by VLBI.” This talk will explore the latest discoveries in transient astronomical sources using VLBI, offering insights into some of the most dynamic phenomena in the Universe. More details and summaries of all talks are available on the EVN webpage. |
The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) is launching a new series of open community webinars to strengthen communication with its future Science Users’ community. Starting 18 November 2025, the webinars will provide updates on construction progress, rollout plans, tools, and commissioning, followed by live Q&A sessions. Each webinar will be held three times per year, with two sessions per event (09:00 UTC and 19:00 UTC) to accommodate different time zones. Sessions will run for 1.5 hours and be recorded for later viewing. Register to attend and read the SKAO Code of Conduct for Meetings and Events before signing up. |
The Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies (CRAF) has been admitted as an I-member of the International Special Committee on Radio Interference (CISPR) – a major step toward addressing unintended electromagnetic radiation (UEMR) from satellites. This development marks growing recognition that satellite-generated radio noise poses a serious threat to radio astronomy, which depends on detecting extremely faint cosmic signals. As part of CISPR, CRAF will work alongside industry, regulatory, and scientific stakeholders to promote international standards limiting satellite UEMR, similar to existing electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) rules for terrestrial devices. Read press releas from ASTRON and ESF |
Explore upcoming training events, and organizer resources - plus past events and training material. |
ESO announced that the 2026 European ALMA School will be hosted by the Allegro ARC node in Leiden, Netherlands, from 26–30 January 2026. The program will cover topics from interferometry basics to advanced data analysis and future ALMA developments, and is open to both beginners and experienced users. The event also includes a tour of Leiden Observatory. Registration here. |
ESA invites applications for the Archival Research Visitor Programme, offering researchers from ESA Member and Cooperating States the chance to conduct studies using ESA Space Science Archives.
Visits (1–3 months) take place at ESAC or ESTEC, with travel, lodging, and meals covered. Early-career scientists and students are especially encouraged to apply. More information on the ESA website. |
The 3rd CTAO School, organized with the MAGIC Collaboration through the ACME Project, will be held in La Palma, Spain (12–22 May 2026), offering hands-on training in VHE astrophysics, data analysis, and observations with the LST-1 and MAGIC Telescopes. More information and the application form are available on the CTAO School website. |
The call for e-MERLIN Proposals: Cycle-21. Full details here. Deadline: 13:59:59 UT on 20th November 2025. |
Call for Proposals for the East Asian VLBI Network (EAVN)' for the 2026A semester is announced. More details here. Deadline: November 03, 2025 08:00:00 UT |
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. |
Online platform for virtual access to multi-messenger observatories, data analysis, and theoretical interpretation. Services are provided through ACME’s six Joint Centres of Expertise covering Gamma-rays, Gravitational Waves, Neutrinos & Cosmic Rays, Optical & NIR, Radio, and X-rays. Registration is open to all users. |
POLICY NEWSThe European Commission has re-appointed Professor Maria Leptin as President of the European Research Council (ERC) for a further two-year term. After nearly four years of leadership, her new mandate began on 1 October 2025 and will run until 30 September 2027. The ERC Consolidator Grant 2026 call is now open. It supports excellent researchers seeking to establish their own research group or programme, with funding of up to €2 million for five years. Eligible applicants must have obtained their PhD between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2018. The deadline for proposals is 13 January 2026. The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the planned European Research Area (ERA) Act, open until 5 January 2026. The initiative aims to address disparities in R&D investment, barriers to researcher mobility and knowledge exchange, and uneven framework conditions across Europe. All stakeholders in the research sector, especially universities and research organisations are invited to contribute feedback on existing challenges and possible EU-level solutions. The EU Council has approved Switzerland’s association to several major EU programmes, including Horizon Europe, Euratom Research and Training, ITER/F4E, Digital Europe, Erasmus+, and EU4Health. This marks a major step in strengthening EU–Swiss cooperation in research, innovation, education, and health. The agreement - part of a broader bilateral package - will be provisionally applied from 1 January 2025, with formal signature scheduled for 10 November 2025 in Bern. The European Commission has adopted its 2026 Work Programme, titled “Europe’s independence moment”. This annual document outlines the Commission’s plans for new and updated legislative and policy initiatives. Key research and innovation initiatives include the ERA Act to strengthen knowledge mobility, the European Innovation Act and the 28th Regime to support innovative companies, and measures for sustainable growth such as the Advanced Materials Act, Critical Raw Materials Centre, and Circular Economy Act. Plans also cover digital sovereignty, with new EU rules on cloud computing, AI, and quantum technologies. On 9 October 2025, the European Court of Auditors published its annual report for the 2024 EU budget. In the “Single Market, Innovation and Digital” category, the estimated error rate is 3.2%, slightly down from the previous year. The main sources of errors were research and innovation expenditures under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, particularly personnel costs. Despite simplifications in Horizon Europe, many beneficiaries have not yet applied the new rules. The report also highlighted issues in projects providing Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP), including overpayments and shortcomings in agreements with third parties. |
RadioNet - European Radio Astronomy Consortium
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