In the afternoon of May 27th, Prof. Kees de Jager has passed away at the age of 100 in his place of birth Den Burg, Texel. As a pioneer of Dutch space research he co-founded one of the predecessors of SRON and as a prominent astronomer he led the Sonnenborgh observatory for a long time. De Jager continued to publish scientific articles and popularize science until just before his death.
Category: News
A New Window to the Hidden Side of the Magnetized Universe
New observations and simulations show that jets of high-speed particles emitted by supermassive black holes can be used to map the structure of invisible inter-cluster magnetic fields. These findings provide astronomers with a new tool for investigating previously unexplored aspects of clusters of galaxies. Publication in Nature on May 5th.
New model can predict carbon cycle presence on exoplanets
Life thrives at stable temperatures. On Earth, this is facilitated by the carbon cycle. Scientists at SRON, VU and RUG have now developed a model that predicts whether there is a carbon cycle present on exoplanets, provided the mass, core size and amount of CO2 are known. Publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics on May 3rd.
Herschel overview paper reveals journey of water from interstellar clouds to habitable worlds
Dutch astronomer Ewine van Dishoeck (Leiden University), together with an international team of colleagues, has written an overview of everything we know about water in interstellar clouds thanks to the Herschel space observatory. The article, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, summarizes existing knowledge and provides new information about the origin of water on new, potentially habitable, worlds.
Astronomers see first hint of silhouette spaghettified star
For decades astronomers have been spotting bursts of electromagnetic radiation coming from black holes. They assumed those are the result of stars being torn apart, but they have never seen the silhouette of the actual material ligaments. Now a group of astronomers, including lead author Giacomo Cannizzaro and Peter Jonker from SRON/Radboud University, has for the first time observed spectral absorption lines caused by strands of a spaghettified star. Publication in MNRAS.
Final inspection of Dutch space instrument SPEXone before transport to NASA
On February 22th a final inspection took place of the Dutch space instrument SPEXone, in the presence of Dutch science minister Van Engelshoven (OCW) and NASA. Soon after the event the instrument will be transported to NASA. From 2023 onwards SPEXone will fly on NASA’s PACE mission, which will help researchers resolve climate issues. SPEXone is specifically developed to unravel the impact of areosols on the climate.
Natural geological methane emissions appear larger than expected
Geological methane sources can be either anthropogenic or natural, such as the oil industry or mud volcanoes. Ground-based measurements combined with TROPOMI observations on the Javanese mud volcano Lusi now show that the natural geological emissions are probably higher than expected. It would mean that we have to attribute a smaller share to man-made geological sources. On the other hand, other human activities should be held accountable for higher emissions, such as rice fields and livestock farming. Publication in Nature’s Scientific Reports.
Evidence for substance at liquid-gas boundary on exoplanet WASP-31b
One of the properties that make a planet suitable for life is the presence of a weather system. Exoplanets are too far away to directly observe this, but astronomers can search for substances in the atmosphere that make a weather system possible. Researchers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and the University of Groningen have now found evidence on exoplanet WASP-31b for chromium hydride, which at the corresponding temperature and pressure is on the boundary between liquid and gas. Publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics on February 3rd.
Astronomers see whirlwind around possible exoplanet-in-the-making
An international team of astronomers led by researchers from the Netherlands has discovered a whirlwind of dust and pebbles in orbit around a young star. It is possible that a planet is forming in the pebbles. The team of scientists made the discovery during the time that designers and developers of an astronomical instrument get as a reward for their work. They will soon publish their findings in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
TROPOMI confirms aircraft observations: Mexico’s Onshore Methane Emissions Are Much Higher Than Reported
An American aircraft campaign has found that Mexico’s onshore methane emissions are 10 times higher than earlier estimates, while offshore rig emissions are 10 times lower than earlier estimates. SRON scientists have been able to verify the aircraft’s onshore observations using data from the Tropomi instrument, which does not yet provide methane data over sea. The new study, published today in Environmental Research Letters, leads to a better understanding of the patterns and places where oil and gas methane emissions occur in Mexico. This is critical to taking efficient mitigation measures.
New X-ray pixel designs rival conventional square shape
SRON scientists have developed five new pixel designs for X-ray telescopes. They have now for the first time reached the same energy resolution as conventional square pixels. The team determined for each design its pros and cons, depending on the goal of an X-ray space mission. Publication in Journal of Applied Physics.
Ten times more hyper luminous galaxies observed in the infrared than stars can produce according to models
A team of astronomers led by SRON has observed ten times more hyper luminous galaxies in the infrared than stars can produce according to the models. If the theory is correct, it means that stars alone cannot account for the brightness of the most luminous infrared galaxies. Publication in a special issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics. On ArXiv on November 18th.
Vidi grant for studying galaxy mergers across cosmic time
Astronomer Lingyu Wang (SRON/RUG) receives an NWO Vidi grant to study merging galaxies. Wang will focus on the role of galaxy mergers in driving outbursts of star formation and black hole accretion. The grant allows her to create a team to join her in this research.
Technology ready for back-up detector X-IFU in Athena space telescope
In 2031, ESA launches its new X-ray space telescope Athena. SRON plays a large role in building one of its two instruments, the X-IFU spectrometer, by producing the camera plus the back-up detectors. SRON scientists have now successfully developed detectors that are optimized for a readout based on a special system called Frequency Domain Multiplexing. They set a new world-record energy resolution at 6 keV of 1.3 eV.
Astronomers see collisions of galaxy clusters at seven billion lightyears
An international team of researchers, including Aurora Simionescu (SRON / UL) has mapped nine gigantic collisions of galaxy clusters. The collisions took place seven billion years ago and could be observed because they accelerate particles to high speeds. It is the first time that collisions of such distant clusters have been studied. Publication in Nature Astronomy.
New device reshapes laser beam for far-infrared telescopes
Far-infrared telescopes mix the incoming light from space with their own far-infrared laser to maximize the spectral resolution. But the currently available lasers can’t produce a radiation signal with an ideal shape—a Gaussian beam. Yuner Gan, a PhD student at SRON and RUG, has now developed a beam cleaning device that reshapes an original laser beam into a Gaussian beam. Publication in Optics Express.
TANGO mission proposal presented in final selection round for ESA’s Scout mission
A consortium of ISISpace, TNO, KNMI and SRON has presented their proposal for the TANGO space mission during the final selection round for ESA’s first Scout mission. TANGO is one of four remaining candidates and will zoom in on concentrations of greenhouse gases in high resolution. It is aimed to complement the larger European climate satellites such as CO2M and Sentinel-5(p), which scan the atmosphere with a wider field of view. The final selection is expected in November.
Costs too high for space telescope SPICA
The space agencies ESA and JAXA have decided to take SPICA, the joint European-Japanese infrared space telescope, out of the competition for ESA’s fifth medium class mission (M5). SPICA was one of the three candidates for the M5 mission, which is part of ESA’s Cosmic Vision program. Although a last review has shown that the mission is technically feasible, the two agencies decided that the costs were going to be too high to continue with the project.
Aerosol instrument SPEX airborne starts measurement campaign in European airspace
SRON’s aerosol instrument SPEX airborne is spreading its wings again. In early October it will start a series of measurement flights across Europe onboard a Falcon-20 research aircraft. SPEX airborne will measure aerosols in the atmosphere—tiny dust particles that can disrupt measurements of the greenhouse gas CO2. In time, SPEX is intended to go into space as part of the European SCARBO mission.
SRON detector array demonstrates novel microwave readout
Over the years, SRON has developed increasingly sensitive Transition Edge Sensors (TES) for space missions such as SPICA and Athena. One of those TES detector arrays, developed as backup X-ray microcalorimeters for Athena, has now played a vital role to demonstrate a new readout technology developed at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan. This technology is called low-noise microwave SQUIDs multiplexed readout. The research results are published in Applied Physics Letters.
