Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have observed a large dark spot in Neptune’s atmosphere, with an unexpected smaller bright spot adjacent to it. This is the first time a dark spot on the planet has ever been observed with a telescope on Earth. Read more in the ESO press release here. Image: [...]
Using multiple telescopes around the world, including European Southern Observatory (ESO) facilities, researchers have uncovered a living star that is likely to become a magnetar. This finding marks the discovery of a new type of astronomical object — massive magnetic helium stars — and sheds light on the origin of magnetars. This research was presented [...]
At the KoWi (The EU Liaison Office of the German Research Organisations) general meeting on 10 August 2023, Prof. Dr. Anton Zensus/Director of MPIfR, Scientific Coordinator of the running Opticon RadioNet Pilot project and Coordinator of the former RadioNet project was elected to the KoWi Advisory Board, with immediate effect.
A study of rare megastorms on Saturn using data from the National Science Foundation’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array has revealed disruptions in the distribution of ammonia gas in the planet’s deep atmosphere. The findings raise questions about just how different gas giants can be from each other, and challenge scientists’ understanding of how [...]
An international team of astronomers and engineers at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have made the first measurements using new receivers installed on multiple ALMA antennas. This so-called “Band 2” opens a new window into cosmic origins, allowing measurements that reveal how distant stars and galaxies form, all the way down to the origins [...]
The call is open for observing proposals on IRAM telescopes, both the NOEMA interferometer and the 30-meter telescope, for the winter semester 2023/2024. Access/funding offered through the ORP (Opticon RadioNet Pilot) project. Submission deadline: 14 September 2023, 17:00 CEST (UT + 2 hours)
The RadioNet newsletter 07/2023 has ust been issued. Read here.
On 13 July 2023, the Commission unveiled a comprehensive set of measures targeted at strengthening the European Research Area (ERA) and making it more resilient, appealing, and competitive. These will contribute to a priority action of the ERA Policy Agenda 2022-2024, namely to promote attractive and sustainable research careers. The set of measures includes: A proposal [...]
At the EAS 2023 in Krakow, Prof. J. Anton Zensus, Coordinator of the concluded RadioNet project and director of the MPIfR, has received the prestigious Tycho Brahe Medal of the European Astronomical Society (EAS). He has been honored for significant advances in Very Long Baseline Interferometry that led to the first images of the shadows [...]
The Max Planck Society (MPG) and the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) jointly offer outstanding postdoctoral researchers in the fields of physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science and earth sciences a prestigious four-year appointment in a unique research environment. The cooperation between the MPG and the WIS offers talented researchers the opportunity to participate in innovative [...]