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 [...]
The 3rd ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup was held from 10 to 11 June 2025 in Kraków, Poland, under the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU. The event was strategically scheduled just ahead of the 92nd ESFRI Forum Meeting and brought together a wide range of stakeholders from across Europe’s research infrastructure (RI) landscape [...]
With the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) nearing completion, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is looking ahead to its next major project. Under a new initiative called Expanding Horizons, ESO is inviting proposals from the global scientific community for a next-generation ground-based facility to be developed in the 2040s. The new programme could include a completely [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
This is the first announcement of the 11th IRAM 30-meter School on Millimetre Astronomy that will take place on October 31st to November 7th in Granada, Spain. On-line registration will open shortly. The school will combine lectures on millimetre astronomy with observations using the 30-meter telescope. Lectures will be given by experienced scientists and 30-meter observers, covering a wide range [...]
The latest issue of the AtLAST newsletter is now available, announcing the successful completion of the EU-funded design study and the launch of the project’s second phase. Supported by a new EU research infrastructure grant, AtLAST2 will focus on consolidating the scientific and technical plans for the future submillimeter observatory. The newsletter provides updates on [...]
A symbolic moment in millimetre-wave VLBI at the Max-Planck-Institute für Radioastronomie (MPIfR): For the first time, the 12-meter APEX telescope in Chile and the 100-meter Effelsberg radio telescope in Germany have successfully detected VLBI fringes between them. Both telescopes are operated by the MPIfR). APEX, located at 5100 m altitude on the Chajnantor Plateau in [...]