Skip to main content

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

ASTRON launches database of female experts

Today marks International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is ‘Inspire Inclusion’.

News
Published by the editorial team, 8 March 2024

LOFAR ERIC: Distributed Research Infrastructure for European Astronomical Research Launched

LOFAR ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium) has been officially launched at its first Council meeting today. The world-leading LOFAR (LOw Frequency ARray) Distributed Research Infrastructure has already revolutionised low-frequency radio astronomy research, resulting in an avalanche of scientific publications in the past decade. LOFAR ERIC is now a single legal entity across the European Union. The LOFAR ERIC statutory seat is in Dwingeloo, the Netherlands, hosted by NWO-I/ASTRON (Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy; the original designer of LOFAR).

LOFAR
News
Published by the editorial team, 22 January 2024

Telescope quartet reveals surprising statistics of cosmic flashes

Scientists led by Chalmers astronomer Franz Kirsten have studied a famous source of repeating fast radio bursts – a still unexplained cosmic phenomenon. Comparing with earlier measurements, the scientists draw a conclusion with far-reaching consequences: any source of fast radio bursts will repeat, if watched long enough and carefully enough. The research team, a unique collaboration between professional and amateur radio astronomers, used four telescopes in northern Europe, amongst which ASTRON’s Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope.

Astronomy
News
telescopes
WSRT-APERTIF
Published by the editorial team, 4 January 2024

Dutch astronomers prove last piece of gas feedback-feeding loop of black hole

Three astronomers from the Netherlands have proven that gas that was previously heated near a supermassive black hole and flowed to the outskirts of the galaxy and cooled down, is moving back towards the black hole. While there had been indirect evidence for this theory, this is the first time that the cooled gas moving toward the black hole has actually been observed.

Astronomy
News
Published by the editorial team, 7 December 2023

Super sharp images reveal a possible hypernebula powered by a source of fast radio bursts

Astronomers discover ultra-fast radio bursts in archived data

ERC Starting Grant Awarded to Dr. Aditya Parthasarathy

Radio waves leaking from large satellite constellations could jeopardize astronomical exploration

Pulsar clocks open new window on gravitational waves

1 63 64 65 66 67 77
DAILY IMAGE

Colloquium: Modern Python development, working smarter not harder

© Corné Lukken

Python is becoming a core part of working not just in Astronomy or data

science but at ASTRON. The ease of use and flexibility of the language

in terms of programming and project structures allows practically

anyone to use it. However, this flexibility allows for many choices

which might have unforeseen consequences down the line.

In this talk I focus on getting the best and most robust experience

when programming in Python by identifying key pillars of a development

workflow. These pillars are used to argue about the benefits of certain

tools and techniques. Some of the topics covered include

contextualization, type hints, testing and mocking.

This talk is aimed at those who perform Python programming but might

not have a deeply rooted programming background showing tools and

techniques that can easily be adopted and understood.

ASTRON daily image.
EVENTS

Toegepaste RF-techniek

Mon 13 May 2024 - Thu 16 May 2024

De cursus Toegepaste RF-techniek bestaat uit een theoriegedeelte (75%) en hands-on sessies in ons eigen lab (25%).
Deelnemers aan deze cursus dienen een hbo werk- en denkniveau te hebben. De deelnemer kent de basisbegrippen van elektronica. Parate kennis van wiskundige concepten is niet vereist, maar komt wel aan de orde bij de transmissielijntheorie. In de cursus wordt ook complexe rekenwijze toegepast.

@astron

Subscribe to our newsletter. For previous editions, click here.

searchclosechevron-downlinkedin-squarebarsyoutube-playinstagramfacebook-officialcross