News
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Answering the biggest questions with the tiniest particlesLeiden Science Young Talent Award 09 December 2025From lectures by Robbert Dijkgraaf to a telescope on the ocean floor: during his double bachelor’s in Physics and Astronomy, Jelle Oonk discovered tha...
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New endowed chair brings astronomy and AI together. ‘AI can help improve our understanding of the Universe’PROFESSOR BY SPECIAL APPOINTMENT 02 December 2025AI helps astronomers to understand our Universe better, and that role is set to grow. Therefore, ASTRON and Leiden University are establishing a new r...
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Arrival of cryostat marks milestone on the road to the world’s largest telescopeINSTRUMENTATION 25 November 2025After years of development, the moment has finally arrived: a massive cryostat, a highly advanced freezer that keeps the sensitive components extremel...
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One step closer to understanding planet-formation: Julia Santos refutes a 20 year standing paradigmASTROCHEMISTRY 24 November 2025How do atoms and molecules end up forming planets? That's what astrochemist Julia Santos studied during her PhD. She discovered the dominant process b...
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Evidence of a massive stellar storm on a nearby starRADIO ASTRONOMY 12 November 2025Astronomer Joseph Callingham and his team have observed for the first time a clear signal from a giant burst from a star outside our solar system. Thi...
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Scientists discover building blocks of life in ice around a forming star in neighboring galaxyAstrochemistry 21 October 2025Astronomers have found complex organic ice outside the Milky Way for the first time. The discovery shows that the building blocks of life could arise ...
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Astronomy for beginners: new minor opens up the universe to everyoneonderwijs 13 October 2025From telescopes to science fiction: in just one semester, students with no background in physics or astronomy get to explore the universe. The first g...
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Greedy black hole feeds via two spiral armsAstronomy research 13 October 2025The supermassive black hole at the center of the Circinus galaxy is being fed with gas by two spiral arms. This is what PhD candidate Wout Goesaert di...
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New model explains extreme jet streams on all giant planetsAstronomy 13 October 2025For the first time, an international team of scientists led by Leiden Observatory and SRON can explain the extreme jet streams observed around the equ...
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Professor Ewine van Dishoeck named Citation LaureateAstrochemistry 25 September 2025Emeritus Professor of Molecular Astrophysics Ewine van Dishoeck has been named a Citation Laureate by Clarivate, a research analytics provider. Clariv...
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Two Leiden teams granted precious research time on ALMA telescopeastronomy 04 September 2025Leiden Observatory has achieved a rare feat: two of its research teams have been awarded prestigious ALMA Large Programmes, allowing them to study how...
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First ring-forming embedded planet discovered around a young sun-like star26 August 2025Astronomers led by Leiden PhD candidate Richelle van Capelleveen have, for the first time, discovered an exoplanet that has carved a bright gap in the...
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Rare isotopes in our neighbouring stars provide new insights in the origin of carbon and oxygen26 August 2025Astronomers at Leiden University have detected rare isotopes of carbon and oxygen in our neighbouring stars for the first time, providing a new window...
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Accidental double zoom reveals millimetre waves around supermassive black holeSterrenkunde 21 August 2025An international team of astronomers led by Matus Rybak (Leiden University) has proven, thanks to accidental double zoom, that millimetre radiation is...
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Speculations about extraterrestrial life peak in news articles (and in scientists quotes)13 August 2025Researchers from Leiden University analysed almost 30 years of communication on astrobiology. News articles proved most speculative, especially via qu...