From March 15 to 17, 2010, Utrecht is the center of X-ray astronomy. More than one hundred astronomers from all over the world will discuss the hottest objects in the universe. The conference is organized by SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and Utrecht University. There will be a lot of attention for the results …
Category: News items
New insight in ozone chemistry above North Pole
A flight of the balloon instrument TELIS has provided new insight into the chemistry of ozone above the North Pole, where the depletion of ozone is much more complex than above the South Pole. We now know more about ozone depleting substances in the stratosphere, such as the elusive but very agressive bromine oxide and chloride oxides which …
HIFI resumes quest for water in Universe
The back up system of HIFI, the state of the art Dutch space instrument on ESA’s Herschel space telescope, has been switched on successfully. Due to an unexpected voltage peak in the electronic system HIFI has been inactive for more than 160 days, but on Thursday evening 14 January Mission Control in Darmstadt confirmed that …
Higher temperatures also a cause of climate change
Higher temperatures on the earth’s surface at higher latitudes cause an increase in the emission of methane, a greenhouse gas that plays an important role in global warming. Therefore higher temperatures are not just a consequence of climate change but also a cause of it, conclude climate researchers in an article published this week in …
Three-antenna linkup milestone for ALMA
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has passed a key milestone. Astronomers and engineers of the European Southern Observatory (SEO) have, for the first time, successfully linked three of the observatory’s antennas at the 5000-metre elevation observing site in northern Chile. Having three antennas observing in unison paves the way for precise images of the …
Back-up system HIFI passes first tests
The researchers responsible for the switch-on of HIFI can enjoy a peaceful Christmas Holiday: the back-up stystem of HIFI has passed the first tests. In order to be able to be back in business in January 2010 the electronic modules of HIFI’s back-up system are tested one by one. The past few weeks this was …
Utrecht University and SRON strengthen cooperation in space science
Utrecht University and SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research have signed an agreement on cooperation in the fields of astrophysics and Earth and planetary science. The institues have been cooperating for years, but now tangible commitments have been made regarding joint research programmes. SRON will also contribute to the education activities of the Faculty of …
10 years XMM-Newton: a new view of the universe
ESA’s XMM-Newton, the most sensitive X-ray telescope ever launched, celebrates its tenth year in space on 10 December 2009. With the help of a hypersensitive reflection grating spectrometer developed by SRON, the telescope has dramatically changed our view of the most extreme parts of the universe. ESA’s XMM-Newton, the most sensitive X-ray telescope ever launched …
Distance to black hole no longer a secret
An international team of astronomers has accurately measured the distance from Earth to a black hole for the first time. Without needing to rely on mathematical models the astronomers came up with a distance of 7800 light years, much closer than had been assumed until now. The researchers achieved this breakthrough by measuring the radio …
Herschel spectroscopy: update
In november Herschel has been carrying out performance verification phase (PVP) observations using the PACS and SPIRE spectrometers. A Herschel update by ESA provides some fine examples of observational results for a variety of astronomical objects. Spectra from HIFI – fully operational again in january 2010 – have determined the presence of organic molecules in …
