26-06-17 |
New 1000-pixel space camera system now mature enough
Researchers from various institutions, including SRON and Delft University of Technology, have demonstrated that it is possible to make a highly sensitive space camera for far-infrared astronomy by using a special type of superconducting detector. Using 961 KID detectors they built a chip for such a camera, which satisfies astronomers’ strict requirements for reliability and sensitivity. Furthermore, the camera system is also made resistant to certain equipment-threatening circumstances in space like cosmic radiation. |
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20-06-17 |
ESA approves three scientific space missions
The European Space Agency ESA has given the green light for the development of three scientific space missions in which Dutch science and the Dutch space sector are playing an important role. These are the gravitational wave detector LISA, exoplanet telescope PLATO, and XARM, a recovery mission for the space telescope Hitomi that was lost in 2016 just a few weeks after its launch. |
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20-06-17 |
Green light given for building exoplanet telescope PLATO
The European Space Agency ESA has given the green light for the realisation of the space telescope PLATO, which will search for exoplanets from 2026 onwards. SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research will test and characterise 8 of the 26 cameras for PLATO. In addition, SRON will develop models that can extract information from PLATO's data about the atmosphere and clouds of such exoplanets. (Dutch follows) |
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15-06-17 |
Astronomers see mysterious nitrogen area in a butterfly-shaped star formation disk
An international team of astronomers, led by Dutch scientists, has discovered a region in our Milky Way that contains many nitrogen compounds in the southeast of a butterfly-shaped star formation disk and very little in the north-west. The astronomers suspect that multiple stars-to-be share the same star formation disk, but the precise process is still a puzzle. The article with their findings has been accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. |
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29-05-17 |
Chemical composition of largest objects in the universe unravelled
Where do the chemical elements that we are made up of come from? SRON researcher Francois Mernier investigated this during his PhD research by measuring the composition of huge hot gas clouds in space more accurately than ever before. On Wednesday 31 May, Mernier will defend his PhD thesis on the subject at Leiden University. |
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24-05-17 |
Symposium 5 juli: Big Science with Small Companies
Als midden- of kleinbedrijf samen met instituten werken aan wetenschap, hoe gaat dat? Wat zijn de ervaringen en waar liggen de kansen voor samenwerking? SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research nodigt high tech bedrijven graag uit voor het symposium Big Science with Small Companies op 5 juli 2017 in Utrecht. Interessante sprekers belichten mogelijkheden en ervaringen in samenwerken met instituten zoals SRON in wetenschappelijk gedreven projecten. Daarbij komen recente ervaringen met de ontwikkeling van hard- en software voor wetenschappelijke instrumenten aan bod. Ook zal SRON aanstippen waar interessante kansen liggen voor co-development. |
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24-05-17 |
Combined satellite data reveal effects aerosols
Aerosols – small particles in the atmosphere – can cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight back to space but also warm the Earth by absorbing sunlight. Researchers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center have combined different satellite measurements to determine to what extent aerosols reflect or absorb light, and therewith cool or warm the Earth. The study has been selected as Research Highlight by the American Geophysical Union. |
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23-05-17 |
Nice to see: XMM-Newton's by-catch
The XMM-Newton X-ray telescope, carrying two Reflection Grating Spectrometers developed by SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, was launched in 1999. It is orbiting earth since then. Its mission is to study high-energy phenomena in the Universe, such as black holes and neutron stars. When the telescope moves between specific target it stills collects scientific data (slews). This recent map shows 30,000 sources detected during 2114 of these slews. Some of the sources have been observed up to 15 times. After correcting for overlaps between slews, 84% of the sky has been covered. Lower energy sources are shown in red while higher energy sources are blue. The size of each source is proportional to its brightness. The centre of the plot corresponds to the centre of the Milky Way. Objects above and below the centre of the plane of our Galaxy are mostly external galaxies that are emitting X-rays from their massive black holes. |
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11-05-17 |
Flat 'pancake' connects two clusters of galaxies
The large cosmic web structure of matter has once again revealed a bit more of itself to researchers. Against expectations, it appears that the filament between the two big clusters of galaxies Abell 399 and Abell 401 is more like a flat pancake than a cylindrical thread. A sudden temperature transition also seems to indicate the 'edge' of this flat connection. Researcher Hiroki Akamatsu of SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research discovered this with fellow researchers in observations made by the Japanese X-ray satellite Suzaku. |
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11-05-17 |
TROPOMI will detect methane leakages from space
Atmospheric scientists at SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research will use the Dutch satellite instrument TROPOMI for the worldwide detection of methane leakages. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is released during the extraction of coal, oil and gas. A research proposal for this initiative by professor Ilse Aben of SRON has been awarded funding. Aben will receive just over half a million euros for the research with which she can appoint two researchers for a period of four years, among other things. |
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10-05-17 |
Behind the scenes: testing for X-IFU
SRON is one of the leading institutes in the development of the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) for X-ray space telescope ATHENA, to be launched in 2028. X-IFU will be a 2-D imaging camera annex spectrograph that is cooled to sub-Kelvin level. The spectrograph will be able to produce a spectrum for each pixel of the captured image and derive the characteristics of gas as hot as 10 million degrees Kelvin. |
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26-04-17 |
Belangrijke hobbel sterrenstof camera’s getrotseerd
Research into interstellar atoms, molecules and molecular clouds can now make huge advances in the coming years thanks to rapid technological developments. An important intermediate step for the development of a supersensitive camera for research into this interstellar medium has now been realized: splitting a terahertz signal into eight beams. |
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25-04-17 |
NWO-presentatie op technologiebeurs Hannover Messe
Van maandag 24 tot en met vrijdag 29 april neemt NWO deel aan de grootste technologiebeurs ter wereld, de Hannover Messe. Het centrale thema van 2017 is Integrated Industry – Creating Value. In aansluiting hierop presenteren verscheidene NWO-instituten en TNO zich gezamenlijk onder het thema Big Science for Industry. Ook het Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (NWO-instituut CWI) met enkele spin-offs en het onderzoeksprogramma Maatschappelijk verantwoord innoveren (NWO-MVI) nemen deel aan de beurs. |
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24-04-17 |
SRON Utrecht voorlopig niet naar Amsterdam Science Park
De Vrije Universiteit (VU) en de Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA) hebben vrijdag 21 april bekend gemaakt dat zij de huisvestingsplannen voor de bètasamenwerking niet doorzetten. Daarmee is de verhuizing van SRON Utrecht naar het Amsterdam Science Park - in deze constructie - voorlopig van de baan. |
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12-04-17 |
Utrechtse onderzoekers tonen verband La Niña en methaanuitstoot
Modellen om klimaatverandering accuraat te voorspellen komen steeds een stapje verder. Zo heeft het combineren van gegevens uit satellieten in een nieuwe studie van onderzoekers van SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research en het IMAU Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research uit Utrecht de invloed van La Niña op de toename van methaan in de atmosfeer bevestigd. Dit levert belangrijke nieuwe informatie op voor klimaatmodellen. |
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12-04-17 |
Vertelt schimmenspel meer over planeetvorming dicht bij ster?
Onderzoekers van SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research in Utrecht en de Universiteit van Amsterdam (UVA) werken aan mogelijke nieuwe manieren om meer te weten te komen over de geboorte van planeten. Ze gebruiken daarvoor het schimmenspel dat zich afspeelt bij een jonge ster. |
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05-04-17 |
Did we see matter falling directly onto a supermassive black hole?
Een relatief dichtbij gelegen actief melkwegstelsel heeft flarden van processen in zijn binnenste kern laten zien. Die flarden geven astronomen nieuwe hints over wat er gebeurt bij superzware zwarte gaten, die behoren tot de meest exotische en tegelijk fundamentele objecten in het universum. Mogelijk betekenen de waarnemingen zelfs dat de onderzoekers materie zagen, die direct naar het zwarte gat viel. |
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03-04-17 |
Sporengas met sleutelrol onder de loep dankzij grote beurs
Earth scientists' picture of carbonyl sulphide (COS) in the atmosphere is still far from complete. But the trace gas plays a key role in two important climate-regulting mechanisms. Greater knowledge of the carbonyl sulphide abundance in the atmosphere, and of the exchange between both COS & CO |
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30-03-17 |
SRON wetenschappers startklaar voor satellietdata Tropomi
Wetenschappers van SRON hebben hun atmosferische modellen op orde en zijn er helemaal klaar voor: het infrarode (IR) deel van de gegevens die het Nederlandse ruimte-instrument Tropomi straks gaat leveren. Het Tropomi instrument aan boord van de aardobservatiesatelliet Sentinel 5P die de Europese ruimtevaartorganisatie ESA ontwikkelde voor het Copernicus programma van de EU, wordt de tweede helft van dit jaar gelanceerd. |
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27-03-17 |
Nederlandse ‘camera’s’ op NASA onderzoeksmissie
NASA heeft een missie geselecteerd die straling vanuit het interstellair medium (tussen sterren) gaat meten met Nederlandse ver-infrarood camera’s. De ballontelescoopmissie GUSTO geeft een eerste volledige studie van alle fases van de levenscyclus van sterren: van moleculaire wolken, via de geboorte en evolutie van sterren tot de gaswolken van stervende sterren, terug naar het begin van de cyclus. SRON en de TU Delft ontwikkelen de belangrijkste detector technologie. |
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