Astrophysics

Planets like our Earth, including planets with water, could form even in the harshest known star-forming environments, drenched by hard UV light from massive stars. more

Euclid space telescope delivers first scientific images more

With the James Webb space telescope, an international team has captured a spectacular image of the object HH211. Here, a young stellar system ejects two supersonic streams of gas, which testify to the turbulent process of star formation inside the system. more

New computer simulation of the universe as a promising multitool more

James Webb Space Telescope observations find water for the first time in the inner disk around a young star with giant planets. more

Precise as a clock: pulsars in the Milky Way form large-scale observatory for gravitational waves more

How iron in meteorites could have contributed to the origin of life more

New observations reveal how a powerful jet forms around a black hole more

A star’s chemical composition strongly influences the chances for life on planets in its neighbourhood more

Astronomers excited by first JWST spectra of planetary cradles showing a rich and diverse chemistry more

The Euclid space telescope contains technology from two Max Planck Institutes more

Many publications by Max Planck scientists in 2022 were of great social relevance or met with a great media response. We have selected 12 articles to present you with an overview of some noteworthy research of the year more

Reinhard Genzel of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics on the first image of the galactic centre more

The active galaxy Centaurus A has made history in radio astronomy more

Many publications by Max Planck scientists in 2020 were of great social relevance or met with a great media response. We have selected 13 articles to present you with an overview of some noteworthy research of the year more

Peter Predehl from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics on the eRosita mission more

Observations of the cosmic shadow dance on 29 May 1919 substantiated a new scientific view of the world more

Like a huge spiral, the Milky Way floats in space more

Interview with Reinhard Genzel on his observation of an effect of the general theory of relativity more

Oscillations from the Milky Way disk seem to relocate stars to large vertical distances from their place of birth more

Interview with Reinhard Genzel, director at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) and architect of the 30-year programme that led to the discovery of the Schwarzschild precession around the black hole at the heart of our Milky Way. Genzel describes the general relativity effect observed by his team and how it can be used to study the galactic gravity trap.Reinhard Genzel receives the Nobel Prize for Physics 2020
Digital Story: Reinhard Genzel more