Author: Erik Arends

A European team of astronomers led by the Netherlands have uncovered a large filament of hot gas connecting four galaxy clusters. The filament contains so-called warm-hot intergalactic medium. The hot gas spans over a distance of 23 million light years, is more than ten million degrees hot, and may be part of what astronomers call the ‘missing normal matter’. The team used two X-ray space telescopes: the Japanese Suzaku and the European XMM-Newton. Publication on June 19^th in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

XRISM observations show that winds from a supermassive black hole consist of bullet-like clumps. Astronomers previously assumed that the wind material would be smooth and continuous. The energy carried by the gas bullets is over 1,000 times greater than that of regular galaxy-scale winds, suggesting a much stronger impact on the environment. Publication in Nature by an international team of astronomers including Elisa Costantini, Liyi Gu and Aurora Simionescu from SRON.

A small international team of astronomers including Silvia Toonen (UvA) and Gijs Nelemans (RU, KU Leuven and SRON) has discovered two white dwarf stars orbiting each other that will merge and explode into a type Ia supernova. This missing link in astronomy has long been predicted. The researchers publish their findings today in Nature Astronomy.

Using the XRISM X-ray telescope, astronomers have observed hot gas sloshing back and forth in the core of a cluster of galaxies. This provides the first direct evidence of gas motions driven by a collision on cosmic scales. Publication in Nature.

Het wetenschappelijke consortium van ESA’s toekomstige NewAthena röntgentelescoop heeft haar doelen voor de missie gedefinieerd in een publicatie in Nature Astronomy.

Astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope to measure the infrared spectrum of a rocky planet in the auspicious planetary system of TRAPPIST-1. It is what you’d expect from a planet covered in volcanic rock. Another scenario includes an atmosphere full of CO2 and smog. The team, including Michiel Min (SRON), publishes the results in Nature Astronomy.

On December 10^th, ESA’s X-ray observatory XMM-Newton celebrates 25 years in space. SRON contributed to one of XMM-Newton’s three instruments—the Reflection Grating Spectrometer. From planets to black holes, the space telescope has delivered many ground-breaking observations of a variety of celestial objects. Let’s take a look at four fascinating discoveries from the past five years.

Kunnen we de grootste structuren in het universum onderzoeken door te kijken naar de kleinste deeltjes? Daarover gaat het onderzoek van Lydia Stofanova, promovendus aan de Leidse Sterrewacht en SRON—het Nederlandse instituut voor ruimteonderzoek. Ze bestudeert hoe elementen zoals zuurstof de grootschalige structuur van het universum beïnvloeden. Op 13 november verdedigde ze haar proefschrift.

An interdisciplinary research consortium, including Floris van der Tak (SRON/RUG) and Michiel Min (SRON) has been awarded an NWA grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) to investigate the origin of life on Earth and in the universe. The so-called PRELIFE consortium (Pathways, Reactions and Environments) receives €6.7 million to explore this research question.

The Astrophysics Centre for Multimessenger studies in Europe (ACME) has kicked off its activities in Paris. This EU-funded project aims to optimize the  European-wide accessibility and cohesion of multiple astroparticle and astronomy research infrastructures, such as VIRGO, KM3NeT, Auger Prime and LOFAR, to realize multi-messenger astrophysics.

Following its launch on September 7th, 2023, and the subsequent series of tests, the XRISM X-ray telescope has produced its first two scientific papers. The team marveled at a temperature of ten billion degrees Celsius inside a supernova remnant. And it measured the distance of the dust ring around a supermassive black hole. In the case of NGC 4151, this turns out to be 0.1 light years. SRON has developed the filter wheel and an X-ray source used to calibrate the energy scale of the Resolve instrument.

SRON astronomers have for the first time mapped the outflows from one of the closest quasars— I Zwicky 1. Quasars are bright cores of galaxies powered by the supermassive black hole in their center. The team has probed gas outflows in I Zwicky 1 to map its system of clouds being blown away at tens to thousands of kilometers per second. Publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Every year SURF organizes its Research Support Championship Awards to give a platform to innovators of research support. This way they can increase their impact and reach and inspire others. SURF is a cooperation of Dutch educational and research institutions. This year, Jelle de Plaa (SRON) receives this award at the SURF Research Day.

SRON astronomer Floris van der Tak has received an ENW-M1 grant from NWO to study the life cycle of stars and planets. Together with a PhD student, he will study the presence of carbon and nitrogen in tenuous gas clouds—the precursors of baby stars. They will analyze data from the recently conducted balloon mission GUSTO, for which SRON developed the cameras.

Astronomers have discovered possible atmospheric gases on 55 Cancri e, a hot rocky exoplanet at 41 light years from Earth. This is the best evidence yet for an atmosphere around a rocky planet outside our solar system. Gas bubbling up from a lava-covered surface possibly feeds an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide. The researchers, including astronomers from SRON and Leiden Observatory, publish their findings in Nature.

The Japanese X-ray telescope XRISM has officially started its nominal phase of operations. After its launch on September 7^th 2023, XRISM went through a series of checks in the commissioning phase, which is now completed. To mark this milestone, new images have been released to the public. SRON has contributed the filter wheel including calibration source to the Resolve instrument.

On Sunday 3 March 2024, the third mobile planetarium of the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA) was officially inaugurated – the SRON planetarium. This took place at the alumni day of the IMC Weekend School at Nyenrode Business University in Breukelen. The event also marked the start of a project to use the inflatable stars to reach more children in socio-economically disadvantaged and rural neighbourhoods.

After a record-breaking 57 days, 7 hours and 38 minutes, NASA’s balloon telescope GUSTO completed its flight above Antarctica by landing on the ice by parachute. The mission was designed to last 55 days. GUSTO has observed atomic clouds in our own galaxy and its nearest neighbor with far-infrared cameras, developed by SRON and TU Delft.

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) opens up a new part of the gravitational wave spectrum as the first space-based detector.  It is now officially adopted by the European Space Agency (ESA) as one of its large class missions. Launch is scheduled for the mid-2030s. The Netherlands plays a large role in the development of hardware and software. 

With the release of its first two images, JAXA’s X-ray telescope XRISM has officially reached the milestone of First Light. The images show the galaxy cluster Abell 2319 and supernova remnant N132D, demonstrating XRISM’s large field-of-view and high spectral resolution. SRON has developed the filter wheel and an X-ray source used to calibrate the energy scale of the Resolve instrument.

NASA’s GUSTO balloon telescope has launched from Antarctica on December 31st. The far-infrared observatory carries out the first large-scale survey with velocity-resolved imaging of the spectral lines emitted by three cosmic elements between stars. GUSTO is equipped with three 8-pixel cameras. SRON and TU Delft made one of those and contributed to the other two.

The discovery of a planet that is far too large for its sun defies models of solar system and planet formation. In an article published in Science, researchers report the discovery of a planet over thirteen times as heavy as Earth orbiting the ultra-cool dwarf star LHS 3154, which is nine times less massive than the Sun. The mass ratio of the newly discovered planet and its parent star is more than a hundred times higher than that of Earth and the Sun. One of the authors is Yamila Miguel (SRON/Leiden Observatory).

An international team of astronomers, co-led by Michiel Min (SRON), has discovered a silicate-based weather system on a fluffy gas planet around the star WASP-107. It is the first time that scientists find clouds and rain made of sand. They also conclude that the temperature deeper in the atmosphere is rising surprisingly rapid. Publication in Nature.

A group of scientists, including Michiel Min (SRON), have for the first time observed ammonia isotopologues in the atmosphere of a celestial body. They used the James Webb Space Telescope. It gives astronomers new tools to deduce how gas giants are formed. Publication in Nature.

NASA’s GUSTO balloon observatory has arrived on Antarctica onboard the Wallops C-130 airplane. It is scheduled for launch around the 15^th of December. GUSTO is equipped with  three 8-pixel far-infrared cameras delivered by SRON and TU Delft and will carry out the first large-scale survey with velocity-resolved imaging of the spectral lines emitted by three cosmic elements between stars.

After lift-off on September 7th 2023, the X-ray space telescope XRISM goes through various tests to check whether all parts have survived the launch. All detector elements of the Resolve instrument, which SRON has contributed to, have now picked up X-rays from the calibration source. They achieve an energy resolution better than 5 eV.

The XRISM X-ray telescope is successfully launched on the early morning of September 7th from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan onboard a JAXA H-IIA rocket. SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research is part of the consortium and has developed the filter wheel including calibration system.  

Terri Brandt has made her way from NASA to start as the new head of SRON’s astrophysics program. ‘SRON’s unique triangle of expertise provides us with many possibilities for audacious science.’

NASA’s GUSTO balloon telescope has passed its payload pre-shipment review. It will now ship from the University of Arizona to Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory for the final integration onto a gondola. This means GUSTO is on schedule for launch in December from Antarctica. SRON and TU Delft together developed GUSTO’s three 8-pixel cameras that will observe cosmic material between stars.

A Dutch consortium led by SRON has received an NWO grant of twelve million Euro, making The Netherlands an important partner within ESA/NASA’s LISA mission—the first space detector for gravitational waves. It also prepares The Netherlands for its role within LISA’s terrestrial cousin—the Einstein Telescope.

Planetary researcher Yamila Miguel (SRON/Leiden University) receives an ERC Consolidator grant of two million Euro to study the interior structure of giant planets in our Solar System. She will use data from the Cassini and Juno missions around Saturn and Jupiter, together with the detailed data on exoplanet atmospheres obtained with the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope.

A Dutch-Italian-German team of astronomers, including Hiroki Akamatsu (SRON), has observed a huge glow of radio emission around a cluster of thousands of galaxies. They combined data from thousands of LOFAR antennas that were focused for 18 nights on an area the size of four full moons. This is the first time astronomers have been able to capture radio emission from such a large area for such a long time and in such detail. They publish their findings Wednesday night in the journal Science Advances.