Solar System

At the end of 2024, ESA’s Solar Orbiter was lucky to witness a strong solar flare – and observed the events leading up to this firework with unprecedented precision. more

Astronomers have repeatedly observed events near a distant star that mirror processes from the early solar system’s planet-forming era more

The unique data from ESA's Solar Orbiter spacecraft aims to explain why the Sun's activity fluctuates in an 11-year cycle. more

New research suggests that the body that collided with Earth 4.5 billion years ago, creating the Moon, originated in the inner Solar System more

The Mars rover Perseverance has collected numerous samples that are to be sent to Earth. Current studies are preparing for the future handling of this material. more

The Solar Orbiter is the first spacecraft to study the Sun's poles – and finds the magnetic field in a state of flip more

Just a few months after it was launched, the spacecraft observed one of the most violent flare eruptions on the sun – from its origin to its full release. more

The Moon is much older than previously thought. Its crust was reheated after its formation - and has thus misled researchers in determining its age more

The Sun should be capable of eruptions that are a hundred times stronger than the strongest flare ever recorded. This is shown by an analysis of over 50,000 sun-like stars. more

Newly analyzed data from ESA’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft offer the first high-resolution view of the entire solar disk more

Measurements from the last phases of the Cassini mission show how dynamic processes in the Saturnian system shape the moons Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Pandora, and Epimetheus. more

Rearchers analyse which chemical elements make up comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko more

Five instruments from the Rosetta spacecraft recorded the eruption of jets of dust on 67P/Chruyumov-Gerasimenko more

Astronomers achieve record measurement for an improved picture of our home galaxy more

Ten observatories put their sight on the dwarf planet more

An object with the name 288P is the only known active asteroid comprising two components more

Max Planck researchers explain why our Sun's brightness fluctuates more

IRAM’s 30-metre dish is part of the Event Horizon Telescope which is looking into the centre of the Milky Way more

Space travel visionaries solve the problem of interstellar slowdown at our stellar neighbour more

The cameras of the Dawn space probe discover water ice in Ceres’ polar region. It can survive for aeons in the extreme cold traps, even though there is no atmosphere. 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

Solar flares don’t just create beautiful polar lights, but can also damage satellites and disrupt power grids. Astrophysicist Sami Solanki attached a telescope to a giant helium balloon to research into the activity of the Sun. more