Issue 7/2018

The identification of high-energetic neutrinos from a distant blazar – a triumph of multi-messenger astronomy

The identification of TXS0506+56 as the source of high energetic neutrinos is a triumph of multi-messenger astronomy. It shows the importance of data archives in different wavelengths, and it opens up new possibilities to study the energetic jets emitted from supermassive black holes. Read more.

Image © An artist's view of the blazer TXS0506+056; Credit - IceCube/NASA

Official inauguration of the MeerKAT radio telescope

MeerKAT is a South African project and a precursor of SKA. It is managed by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), where most of the specialised hardware and associated software was designed and built in cooperation with industrial partners. MeerKAT consists of 64 antennas each 13.5 meters.

After a decade in design and construction, MeerKAT has now begun science operations. The official inauguration on July 13, 2018 was attended also by RadioNet partners.

Cosmic dust: Origin, applications and implications 11-15 June 2018 in Copenhagen

This conference was the fourth in a series held every five years on cosmic dust. This conference brought together more than 130 experts on dust and dust practitioners from all different backgrounds: meteoritics, interplanetary dust, protoplanets, star-formation, AGB stars and Planetary Nebulae, dust in galaxies, supernovae, and AGN.

Research on cosmic dust has grown in importance over the past decade due to the unparalleled sensitivity of new astronomical facilities operating at radio regimes, such as the ALMA array, and the Planck, and Herschel satellites. More.

Cold Cores 2018

The 9th meeting of the Planck and Herschel project on Cold Cores was held on June 4-7, 2018 in Besançon (France), hosted by the Besançon observatory (OSU THETA, Institute UTINAM and University of Franche-Comté) and co-sponsored by RadioNet.

The meeting gathered members of the Galactic cold cores collaboration and external researchers to foster new projects focused on multi-scale studies of star formation and the effect of the Galactic environment on the properties of star forming regions. The meeting was successful to diffuse the information about IRAM present and future capabilities within the participants including young researchers from France, Hungary, Finland and Kazakhstan. More.

The Power of Faraday Tomography — towards 3D mapping of cosmic magnetic fields

The workshop held in Miyazaki on May 28, 2018, aimed at cosmic magnetic fields, and in particular the astronomical technique of Faraday Tomography to study the field. Especially with the onset of low-frequency spectro-polarimetry with telescopes such as LOFAR, this technique has great promise for the study of Galactic, extragalactic and intergalactic magnetism.

The workshop brought together experts of Faraday Tomography with experts in observational, numerical and theoretical cosmic magnetism studies, and to provide training in radio astronomy and cosmic magnetism studies for young astronomers. More.

EWASS 2019

The European Week of Astronomy and Space Science (EWASS 2019) will take place in Lyon, France, on 24 - 28 June 2019. The meeting is organised by the European Astronomical Society (EAS), in collaboration with the Société Française d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique (SF2A). The venue, Manufacture des Tabacs, is located in the city center, close to the iconic UNESCO World Heritage site of the Old Lyon. The Astronomical Society of India is an invited participant, to shed light on collaborations between India and Europe.

The deadline for proposals for organising a Symposium, a Special Session, or a Lunch Session is set on Sunday, 9 Sep 2018.

POLICY NEWS

European Innovation Scoreboard

The European Innovation Scoreboard provides a comparative analysis of innovation performance in EU countries, other European countries, and regional neighbours. It assesses relative strengths and weaknesses of national innovation systems and helps countries identify areas they need to address.

The European Innovation Scoreboard 2018 was released on 22 June 2018. Sweden remains the EU innovation leader, followed by Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, the UK, and Luxembourg. Lithuania, the Netherlands, Malta, the UK, Latvia, and France are the fastest growing innovators. More.

Petition for an increased EU budget for Research and Innovation

A petition for an increased EU budget for research and innovation is Europe wide organized. The petition urges the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Commission to create the needed step change in budgetary commitment for Research and Innovation, by moving from the current 100 billion € target proposed for the next 7-year Financial Framework period to 160 billion €. The full text of the petition and signature button can be found here.

2018 EU Prize for Women Innovators awarded

At an award ceremony in Brussels on June 21, 2018 the four winners of the 2018 EU Prize for Women Innovators, funded under Horizon 2020, the EU research and innovation programme were announced. The aim of the EU Prize for Women Innovators is to raise public awareness of the need for more innovation and more women entrepreneurs, to recognise the success of women in innovation and create strong role models. The winners were chosen out of 122 applications. More.

European Researchers’ Night

The European Commission and European Parliament are co-organising on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 September 2018 the Science is Wonder-ful ! event / European Researchers’ Night at the Parlamentarium (European Parliament) in Brussels. During two days, visitors can discover sciences, research and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme. The entrance is free. Due to capacity limitation, it is recommended to register in advance.

JOBS OPPORTUNITIES

- JIV-ERIC — JIVE Support scientist

- ASTRON — Junior Telescope Scientist, Group manager Computing

- CHALMERS — B asic science tenure track assistant professor positions

- IRAM — Postdoctoral Research Position in Millimeter Astronomy for NOEMA

check also EURAXESS

UPCOMING EVENTS

supported by RadioNet

• XXX IAU General Assembly – Wien – August 20, 2018

• YERAC 2018 – Dwingeloo – September 4, 2018

• The HI/Story of the Nearby Universe – Groningen – September 10, 2018

• CESRA 2018 – Brussels – September 10, 2018

• MKSP meeting 2018 – Cracow – September 10, 2018

• 5th LOFAR School 2017 – Dwingeloo – September 17, 2018

• 10th IRAM mm interferometry school – Grenoble – October 1, 2018

• 14th EVN Symposium & Users Meeting – Granada – October 8, 2018

• Radio2018 – Recent Progress in Radio Astronomy – Jena – October 24, 2018

Links to these and to other related events are in our Calendar.

EDITORS:

RadioNet Management
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
Auf dem Hügel 69 // DE 53121 Bonn

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RadioNet has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730562, and contribution from the partner organisations

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