‘Weer wat geleerd vandaag. Bedankt voor uw interessante verhaal’, zegt de jongste van een gezin tegen een SRON-medewerker. De medewerker heeft zojuist uitgelegd wat een spectrum is en hoe je met spectrogrammen de diepste geheimen van het heelal kunt ontrafelen. Het gezin kwam net als bijna 450 mensen zondag 18 oktober naar de jaarlijkse Open Dag …
GOCE ready to measure Earth’s gravity field
After 6 months of intensive testing in space, the GOCE satellite is ready to make a long series of precise measurements of the Earth’s gravity field. SRON plays an important role in converting the raw measurement data into ‘gravity maps’ of the Earth. These maps might throw new light on issues such as climate change …
Open Day SRON: everything you wanted to know about space research
On 18 October 2009 SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research will open its doors to the public as part of the October Knowledge Month series of events. At the Utrecht and Groningen locations, visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in space research by means of presentations, demonstrations, lectures and films. …
HIFI one step closer to switch-on
Scientists of SRON and ESA are now closing in on the cause of the problem with the high resolution spectrometer HIFI on board ESA’s Herschel Space observatory. A series of events which is currently being investigated has most probably led to an overload in some components in a DC/DC converter. This caused a malfunction in the …
SRON: planetary research with spectropolarimetry
The interest for planetary research has grown internationally over the last few years. Also SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research has developed a visible branch of planetary research within the existing Earth oriented research. Therefore the name of the division Earth Oriented Science (EOS) has been adjusted to Earth and Planetary Science (EPS). The planetary …
Setback HIFI
The HIFI spectrometer on board the European space telescope Herschel – launched on 14 May – is experiencing a setback. The space measuring instrument has been temporarily switched off due to a problem in the so-called Local Oscillator Control Unit. The exact cause of the problem on this ESA mission remains unclear. Extensive tests – …
A new look at the atmospheric water cycle: Isotope measurements from space using SCIAMACHY
Researchers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Utrecht University and various international partners have obtained the first global observations of water isotopes in the lowest part of our atmosphere. They analysed measurements from the satellite instrument SCIAMACHY, providing new insights into the hydrological cycle that are expected to further improve climate models. The researchers …
Dutch golden X-ray gratings launched 10 years ago
On July 23rd, exactly 10 years have passed since the Chandra space telescope (NASA) was launched. A Dutch instrument on board still provides a new view on X-rays from space, including X-ray emission from black holes. X-ray astronomer prof. Frits Paerels from New York, who is deeply involved in the development and exploitation of the …
European grant for astronomers
Astronomers dr. Andrey Baryshev (SRON) and prof. dr. Amina Helmi (University Groningen) received a Starting Grant of 0,9 and 1,6 million Euro from the European Research Council (ERC). The ERC is founded in 2007 by the European Union to finance pioneering research. The Starting Grant is meant for researchers who have a doctors degree for …
Space instrument HIFI delivers crystal clear observations
’We can investigate the universe’s thermostat’ The first measurement data from the Dutch space instrument HIFI are of such a good quality that they can be used for more than just fine-tuning the instruments. According to scientific leader Frank Helmich and project leader Peter Roelfsema they can be used straightaway for scientific research: ’We shall …
