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Telescopes

ASTRON is responsible for the operations of the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) and the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR).

Astronomy

The astronomical research at ASTRON is closely aligned with the strengths of our facilities LOFAR and WSRT-APERTIF.

Diversity & Sustainability

ASTRON is committed to achieving a fair, welcoming, and sustainable work environment for all.

Beschermingszones


Met onze radiotelescopen nemen wij de meest zwakke signalen uit het heelal waar. Daardoor zijn zij kwetsbaar voor elektromagnetische storing. Met het tijdig treffen van de juiste maatregelen kan storing worden voorkomen.

Wireless Data Lab


Draadloze techniek lijkt vanzelfsprekend, maar de ontwikkeling ervan gaat niet vanzelf. Daarom hebben we bij ASTRON een proeftuin ingericht; het Wireless Data Lab.

Making discoveries
in radio astronomy
happen.

ASTRON is the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, and is part of the Institutes organisation of NWO.
STORIES

Second-Generation Starlink Satellites Leak 30 Times More Radio Interference, Threatening Astronomical Observations

Observations with the LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) radio telescope last year showed that first generation Starlink satellites emit unintended radio waves that can hinder astronomical observations. New observations with the LOFAR radio telescope, the biggest radio telescope on Earth observing at low frequencies, have shown that the second generation ’V2-mini’ Starlink satellites emit up to 32 times brighter unintended radio waves than satellites from the previous generation, potentially blinding radio telescopes and crippling vital research of the Universe.

Astronomy
LOFAR
News
Published by the editorial team, 18 September 2024

European grant allows ASTRON astronomer Joe Callingham to study the space weather of other worlds

Dr Joe Callingham has received an ERC Starting Grant worth 1.5 million euros.

LOFAR
News
Science
SKA
Published by the editorial team, 5 September 2024

Top marks for ASTRON

ASTRON has been assessed by the Strategy Evaluation Protocol (SEP) committee as a research institute that produces excellent research both on astronomy and in technology and innovations.

News
Published by the editorial team, 22 August 2024

Women Astronomers Day 2024

Today, August 1st, marks Women Astronomers Day. Throughout history women astronomers have played a vital role in the development of astronomy and have made important astronomical discoveries.

Astronomy
News
Published by the editorial team, 1 August 2024

International Women in Engineering Day

Origin of fast radio bursts come into focus through polarized light

Violette Impellizzeri to head astronomy and operations department

New calibration technique circumvents Earth’s ionosphere

ASTRON has turned 75!

DAILY IMAGE

Colloquium: MHONGOOSE: searching for low-column density gas with MeerKAT

© Erwin de Blok (ASTRON/UCT/RuG)

The MHONGOOSE Large Survey Project is obtaining ultra-deep observations with MeerKAT to map the distribution and kinematics of the low column-density neutral hydrogen (HI) gas in and around 30 nearby star-forming spiral and dwarf galaxies.

With these deepest resolved HI observations of nearby galaxies to date, we want to detect cold gas accretion. This is the process by which galaxies replenish their gas reservoirs from the cosmic web, enabling them to continue forming stars throughout cosmic time.

The survey is now 90% complete, and is routinely reaching its target HI column density sensitivity of a few times 10^17 atoms cm-2, two orders of magnitude lower than the typical values found in galaxy HI disks.

Our full-depth data show that the outskirts of our galaxies are complex and dynamic environments, with many potential accretion and interaction features that only now become visible due to the excellent column density sensitivity. We detect a significant number of uncatalogued low-mass dwarf galaxies, which enable us to do the kind of science in environments at tens of Mpc distance that was so far only possible in the Local Group.

A first comparison of the MHONGOOSE galaxies with simulated HI data extracted from recent cosmological simulations shows a marked difference in kinematics and morphology, indicating that cold gas accretion is not happening in the form simulations predict.

This discrepancy between observations and simulations is a challenge but also points the way to a better understanding of the role of gas accretion in galaxy evolution and identifies opportunities for new HI surveys with the upcoming SKA-MID telescope.

ASTRON daily image.
EVENTS

Open Dag: 6 oktober/Open Day: October 6th

Sun 06 Oct 2024

English follows Dutch   Bezoek ons tijdens onze open dag op 6 oktober Hoe klinkt een dode ster? Hoe maak je onzichtbaar licht zichtbaar? Hoe werkt een zwart gat? Waarom kun je met een radiotelescoop terug in de tijd kijken? Achter al deze en nog veel meer interessante dingen kom je tijdens onze open dag […]

@astron

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