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. HIFI on the Herschel satellite found oxygen molecules in …
Category: News items
Enceladus rains water onto Saturn
These observations were made by Herschel?s HIFI instrument on 21 June, 8 July 2009 and June 24, 2010. (NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute) 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 …
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. Enceladus is famous for its planetary-size geysers. Data from the Cassini spacecraft recently permitted the …
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. The Science Programme has an …
Rens Waters on Lowlands University
Image Zaterdag 20 augustus van 13.45 – 14.30 geeft SRON-directeur Rens Waters college op Lowlands. Sinds het begin van het onderzoek naar de ruimte probeert de mens antwoorden te vinden op de belangrijke vraagstukken over ons bestaan. Hoe ontstond het leven? En hoe ontstonden planeten? Is er leven buiten de aarde? Hoe vormen sterrenstelsels zich? …
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 …
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 …
Chinese-Dutch collaboration in research on planetary atmospheres
New space instrument can throw light on climate change on earth and the development of dust storms on Mars The Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and NWO-SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research signed a declaration of intent on Wednesday 11 May for long-term scientific and technical collaboration in research on planetary atmospheres. The collaboration …
Rebel electrons determine fundamental limit for space detectors
Jochem Baselmans and his group are develeping Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) 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 …
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. Dense filaments of gas in the IC5146 interstellar cloud. This image was taken by ESA?s Herschel space observatory at …
