14-09-11 |
Herschel paints new story of galaxy evolution
ESA’s Herschel infrared space observatory has discovered that galaxies do not need to collide with each other to drive vigorous star birth. The finding overturns this long-held assumption and paints a more stately picture of how galaxies evolve. |
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24-08-11 |
Lowlands University: A Star is Born
De lezing van Rens Waters op Lowlands University was een succes. Een bomvolle tent met festivalgangers luisterde geboeid naar Waters voordracht over de vorming van sterren en planeten, en de zoektocht naar water in stervormingsgebieden en ons eigen zonnestelsel. |
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18-08-11 |
GOSAT-data now accurate enough for climate studies
Scientists from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT) have developed a highly accurate method to derive concentrations of the greenhouse gases CO2 ‑­ and methane from observations of Japanese GOSAT satellite. GOSAT has been launched in January 2009 but till now the carbon dioxide and methane data lacked sufficient accuracy. The newly derived data have the accuracy to significantly improve our understanding of the sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the Earth atmosphere. |
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01-08-11 |
Astronomers searching for oxygen can breathe more easily
ESA’s Herschel space observatory has found molecules of oxygen in a nearby star-forming cloud. This is the first undisputed detection of oxygen molecules in space. It concludes a long search but also leaves questions unanswered. The HIFI instrument, developed by SRON, was used for the observations. |
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29-07-11 |
Enceladus rains water onto Saturn
ESA’s Herschel space observatory has shown that water expelled from the moon Enceladus forms a giant torus of water vapour around Saturn. The discovery solves a 14-year mystery by identifying the source of the water in Saturn’s upper atmosphere. These observations were made by Herschel’s HIFI instrument on 21 June, 8 July 2009 and June 24, 2010. |
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15-07-11 |
Herschel: Enceladus feeds water torus around Saturn
Researcher Paul Hartogh and colleagues, presenting far-infrared observations from the space telescope Herschel (ESA), report the direct detection of a torus around Saturn consisting of water-dominated gases and ice particles that have escaped from the interior of its moon Enceladus. |
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14-07-11 |
Roel Gathier elected vice-chairman Science Programme Committee ESA
SRON Managing Director Roel Gathier has been elected vice-chairman of the Science Programme Committee (SPC) of ESA. The SPC decides on the content of ESA's Science Programme. In this programme ESA develops missions for space research of "nearby" objects (Sun, Moon, Planets) and object to the edges of our Universe. |
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01-07-11 |
31-05-11 |
Young star shooting water bullets
Observations with Herschel-HIFI of water in a young Sun-like star reveal high-velocity "bullets" moving at more than 200,000 km/h from the star. This can be compared to the velocity of a bullet from an AK47 rifle, which is 2500 km/h or 80 times slower. It is a surprise that water molecules are observed at this high velocity - they should have been destroyed in the shock where temperatures exceed 100,000 degrees. |
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23-05-11 |
Astronomical conference: new views and 50 years Dutch space research
Vandaag is op Texel de 66ste Nederlandse Astronomen Conferentie (NAC) begonnen, dit jaar georganiseerd door SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research. De driedaagse conferentie presenteert de nieuwste sterrenkundige inzichten aan astronomen in Nederland. Daarnaast staat de NAC in het teken van de 50ste verjaardag van het Nederlandse ruimteonderzoek en de 90ste verjaardag van Kees de Jager, een van de grondleggers van het ruimteonderzoek. De grote verdiensten van De Jager als organisator en sterrenkundige worden belicht op een minisymposium op vrijdagmiddag 20 mei. SRON geeft dan ook een eerste preview van de website '50 years Dutch Space Research'. |
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10-05-11 |
02-05-11 |
Rebel electrons determine fundamental limit for space detectors
Researchers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and Delft University of Technology (TUD) have stumbled across a fundamental limit for superconductors in space detectors and quantum computers. During their research on a superconducting aluminium film, the researchers observed a phenomenon that contradicts the prevailing theory: at temperatures just above absolute zero quite a large number of electrons in a superconductor still appear to behave as individual particles. For superconductors these rebel electrons are disastrous. They cause quantum computers to lose their coherency and radiation detectors to be less sensitive. The researchers published their findings on 29 April in Physical Review Letters. |
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13-04-11 |
Herschel links star formation to sonic booms
ESA’s Herschel space observatory has revealed that nearby interstellar clouds contain networks of tangled gaseous filaments. Intriguingly, each filament is approximately the same width, hinting that they may result from interstellar sonic booms throughout our Galaxy. |
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14-03-11 |
New SRON cryostat simulates space conditions
SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research gaat met financiële steun van onderzoeksfinancier NWO een ruimtesimulator ontwikkelen. In de simulator - die de duisternis en de extreem lage temperaturen in het heelal nabootst - wil het ruimteonderzoeksinstituut zijn ruimte-instrumenten aan intensieve tests gaan onderwerpen. De eerste kandidaat is de infraroodspectrometer SAFARI, het toekomstige Europese zenuwcentrum van de Japanse ruimtetelescoop SPICA. |
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07-03-11 |
The Infrared Connection: from HIFI to SAFARI
Metingen in de eerste helft van 2010 door SRON's moleculenjager HIFI - een van de drie instrumenten aan boord van ESA's ruimtetelescoop Herschel - hebben geleid tot meer dan vijftig wetenschappelijke publicaties. Om dat te vieren overhandigt SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research op 8 maart a.s. een speciaal editie van het Europese tijdschrift Astronomy & Astrophysics aan NWO-voorzitter prof. dr. Jos Engelen. Het themanummer is gewijd aan de eerste wetenschappelijke resultaten van de Herschel-missie, onder andere aan de nieuwe vormen van water die HIFI in de ruimte heeft aangetroffen. |
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03-03-11 |
HIFI recovered from cosmic ray hit
HIFI, one of the three scientific instruments on ESA's Herschel Space Observatory, has taken a hit by a cosmic ray particle in a critical area again. On Monday 28 February a particle presumably hit the electronics of the instrument, which brought HIFI observations to a full stop. However, after switching HIFI off and then on again the instrument came back online. HIFI will now be able to continue its highly successful quest for |
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02-03-11 |
China wants SPEX for Mars mission
The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) has expressed serious interest in the SPEX instrument, the spectropolarimeter currently under development at SRON in collaboration with the Astronomical Institute Utrecht and other Dutch partners. SPEX would become part of the first Mars mission that is being developed completely under Chinese leadership. |
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28-02-11 |
21-02-11 |
Immersed gratings candidate for Extremely Large Telescope
SRON’s 'immersed gratings' are a candidate for use in the European Extremely Large Telescope. An SRON-led Dutch consortium – that also includes TNO, NOVA/Astron and Philips – will study if the technology can also be used for METIS, one of the eight planned instruments behind the telescope’s enormous mirror. The grating for METIS must be much larger and flatter than the current ultramodern gratings, and realising this will be an enormous technological challenge. |
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13-12-10 |
SRON supplies groundbreaking technology for European environmental satellite
SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research will supply essential hardware for the infrared module of TROPOMI, the instrument onboard the European environmental satellite Sentinel-5 precursor, which shall monitor air pollution in the troposphere and climate change on earth, for example. On 9 December 2010, SRON concluded an agreement with the British space company Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) to this effect. SRON will supply a specially developed combination of a prism and optical grating, which will be used in space for the first time, and the readout electronics for the advanced infrared detector. The space research institute is also responsible for testing and characterising the detector under space conditions. |
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