LOFAR news
Aurorae discovered on distant stars suggest hidden planets
Using the world’s most powerful radio telescope, LOFAR, scientists have discovered stars unexpectedly blasting out radio waves, possibly indicating the existence of hidden planets.
Periodic Fast Radio Burst found bare, unobscured by strong binary wind
By connecting two of the biggest radio telescopes in the world, astronomers have discovered that a simple binary wind cannot cause the puzzling periodicity of a Fast Radio Burst after all.
Most detailed-ever images of galaxies revealed using LOFAR
After almost a decade of work, an international team of astronomers has published the most detailed images yet seen of galaxies beyond our own, revealing their inner workings in unprecedented detail.
Vidi grant awarded to astronomer Harish Vedantham
Astronomer Harish Vedantham of the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) and the University of Groningen has been awarded a ‘VIDI’ grant of 800,000 Euros from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).
The galaxy with a wagging tail
One of the most massive galaxies at the centre of the Abell 1775 cluster has a 2.5 million light-year long tail – twice as long as previously thought – that appears to be “wagging”.
Famous fast radio burst FRB20180916B just barely lets itself be captured
Two international teams of astronomers (with significant Dutch involvement) have published two scientific papers with new information about the famous fast radio burst FRB20180916B.
Ultra-sensitive radio images reveal thousands of star-forming galaxies in early Universe
An international team of astronomers has published the most sensitive images of the Universe ever taken at low radio frequencies, using the International Low Frequency Array (LOFAR).
A starry sky made of more than 25,000 supermassive black holes
An international team of astronomers has produced the largest and sharpest map of the sky at ultra-low radio frequencies, using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope. The map published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics reveals more than 25,000 active supermassive black holes in distant galaxies.
ASTRON reveals life cycle of supermassive black hole
For the first time LOFAR and WSRT-Apertif have been used together to measure the life cycle of supermassive black holes emitting radio waves.
First direct detection of a brown dwarf with a radio telescope
Astronomers at ASTRON have discovered a brown dwarf with LOFAR. The discovery of the object dubbed Elegast, opens up a new path that uses radio telescopes to discover faint objects that are close-cousins of Jupiter-like exoplanets.
Simultaneous optical and radio observations of Perseids
From today (August 11th) up until Friday the yearly Perseids meteor shower will have its peak. This phenomenon is not only interesting for amateur astronomers, professional astronomers will be observing them as well.
What we look forward to in LOFAR 2.0: Live warning system to study solar eruptions
The Sun’s activity appears not only in the well-known 11-year Sunspot cycle, but also in short duration eruptions as flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).