The first image from the international SKA Observatory’s telescope in Australia, SKA-Low, has been released on 17 March 2025 – a significant milestone in its quest to reveal an unparalleled view of our Universe. The image shows an area of sky of about 25 square degrees – equivalent to approximately 100 full Moons. In it [...]
Swirling through the Milky Way’s central zone, surrounding the supermassive black hole Sgr A*, dust and gases constantly churn as energetic shock waves ripple. An international scientific team using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has sharpened our view of this action by a factor of 100, discovering a surprising new filamentary structure in this [...]
An international team of researchers used multi-wavelength observations of active galactic nuclei to study how black holes launch relativistic jets. The sixteen sources were observed with the Event Horizon Telescope during its first campaign in 2017. The extreme resolution achieved by the Event Horizon Telescope enabled studies of jets closer than ever to the central [...]
Two different teams of astronomers have detected oxygen in the most distant known galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0. The discovery, reported in two separate studies, was made possible thanks to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner. This record-breaking detection is making astronomers rethink how quickly galaxies formed in [...]
A scientific team led by Kiana Burton of the University of Colorado and Meredith MacGregor of Johns Hopkins University utilized archival data and new ALMA observations to study the millimeter-wavelength flare activity of Proxima Centauri. Proxima Centauri's small size and strong magnetic field indicate that its entire internal structure is convective, making the star much [...]
An in-depth technical analysis by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has evaluated the impact of the INNA megaproject on the facilities at the Paranal Observatory/Chile. The analysis reveals that INNA would increase light pollution above the Very Large Telescope (VLT) by at least 35% and by more than 50% above the south site of the [...]
The Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) – the top UN body for civilian space-related matters – will discuss “Dark and Quiet Skies, astronomy and large constellations: addressing emerging issues and challenges” annually until 2029. The subcommittee meets for two weeks and has [...]
SURF and ASTRON have implemented the OpenZR+ technology to establish a 400G network connection, significantly enhancing scientific research in the Netherlands. This upgrade enables the transmission of more detailed images of space, which is particularly valuable for astronomers working with the LOFAR telescope. As the world’s largest radio telescope, LOFAR consists of thousands of antennas [...]
Based on the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) multi-band observations of dust polarization, the magnetic field structure in a protoplanetary disk has been measured for the first time. A research team led by Project Assistant Professor Satoshi Ohashi (NAOJ) investigated the dust polarization in the protoplanetary disk around a young star, HD 142527, by analyzing [...]
The latest Eurobarometer survey on European citizens' knowledge and attitudes towards science and technology shows: more than 8 in 10 citizens (83%) think that the overall influence of science and technology is positive. See the EC press release here. Two-thirds of respondents (67%) equally agree that science and technology make our lives easier, healthier and [...]