X-ray image of W50 nebula with SS433, showing energy levels in keV.

X-ray panorama of the “Manatee Nebula” by SRG/eROSITA
Visualization of the cosmic web structure with galaxies marked by star symbols. Two scales are shown: a larger image of 100 million light years and a detailed section of 10 million light years.

A Sea of Light: HETDEX Astronomers Reveal Hidden Structures in the Young Universe
Simulation of a star forming region with zoom to a dense core

Proto-stellar disks in their natural habitat
Several bright spots in space in front of a dark background.

Measuring the expansion of the universe with cosmic fireworks
Large telescope structure in arid landscape with mountains in the background.

The plot thickens: independent confirmation of early Universe data hints at new physics
Image with dots for galaxies, arrows for velocities, and a coloured distribution of dark matter.

An old puzzle solved: astronomers discover the world is flat
A black hole with swirling light and distant stars in the background.

Astronomers confounded by a mysterious million solar-mass dark object whose inner structure defies explanation
large, bright star transfers matter to a black hole with an accretion disk. image by ESA, Hubble

Explosive endpoints of a life next to a black hole
Gas clouds in purple with small yellow dots.

MOGLI: Following the Hidden Life of Astrophysical Gas
Sequence of a star transforming into a compact object beside another star.

The Hidden Efficiency of Stellar Interactions

News at MPA

Mann in a suit in front of a bookshelf.

Rashid Sunyaev receives Fritz Zwicky Prize

April 02, 2026

The European Astronomical Society announced today that the 2026 Fritz Zwicky Prize for Astrophysics & Cosmology is awarded to Prof. Rashid Sunyaev for his pioneering work on the cosmic microwave background and the theory of disk accretion.
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Three individuals stand at the Uganda Equator landmark.

Strengthening ties between the MPG and Uganda

February 03, 2026

In January, Prof. Dr. Tobias Bonhoeffer, Advisor to the MPG President on Africa Affairs, visited the Partner Group of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics at Kyambogo University in Uganda, led by Dr. Benard Nsamba. Prof. Bonhoeffer met with the university's top management and participated in a productive collaborative board meeting, discussing future research initiatives and opportunities for deeper cooperation.
 
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Graduate holding diploma and medal, flanked by two faculty members in academic robes.

MPA Postdoc Claude Cournoyer-Cloutier awarded Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal

December 09, 2025

For her excellent graduate studies, Claude Cournoyer-Cloutier, who is now a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, received the Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal at the McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada at the end of November.
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All news
April 2026
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
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"UNIVERSE+ Online Seminars"

Apr 8, 2026 from 04:00 PM to 05:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

TBA

Apr 9, 2026 from 03:30 PM to 04:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

Registration Deadline – MPCDF Deep Learning Workshop (Extended)

Apr 11, 2026 from 12:00 AM to 01:00 AM (Local Time Germany)

"Realistic Thermodynamics in Protoplanetary Disks: Linking Hydrodynamical Simulations With Multi-Wavelength Observations"

Apr 13, 2026 from 03:30 PM to 04:30 PM (Local Time Germany)

Registration Deadline - AGN Feedback Across All Scales and Time

Apr 14, 2026 from 12:00 AM to 01:00 AM (Local Time Germany)

"Fundamentals of Deep Learning"

Apr 14, 2026 from 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Characterizing the Interstellar Medium at the Galactic Center: The Role of Magnetic and Stellar Feedback"

Apr 14, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (Local Time Germany)

"CN7 Dust Connector 'Kick Off'"

Apr 16, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"From Sand to Silicon – How Modern Microchips Are Made"

Apr 16, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 01:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Introduction to Course and Journal Club: The Geochemical Potential for Metabolic Processes on the Sub-Neptune Exoplanet K2-18b"

Apr 16, 2026 from 02:15 PM to 04:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Piercing Deeper Into the Radio Universe - A MeerKAT Perspective"

Apr 16, 2026 from 03:15 PM to 04:15 PM (Local Time Germany)

"What is Life? Perspectives from Biology and Philosophy"

Apr 17, 2026 from 04:15 PM to 05:15 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Mapping the Diffuse Milky Way in 3D - The Local ISM in Absorption, Emission, and Polarization"

Apr 20, 2026 from 03:30 PM to 04:30 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Differentiating Direct and Preventative AGN Jet Feedback via Jet Deceleration"

Apr 21, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Antipodal Self-Duality in Planar N=4 and Fishnets"

Apr 21, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"The PLATO Mission: Science Data and Open Time Proposals"

Apr 21, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 12:45 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Axion Birefringence: Probing Ultra-Light Particles With Polarized Light"

Apr 21, 2026 from 12:30 PM to 01:30 PM (Local Time Germany)

"A Story of Condensation in Giant Exoplanet Atmospheres"

Apr 21, 2026 from 02:00 PM to 03:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"A Cosmic Cocktail: From Molecules to Maps"

Apr 21, 2026 from 06:30 PM to 08:30 PM (Local Time Germany)

MPP & MPQ Career Day

Apr 22, 2026

"The Need for High Spectral Resolution in Future Spectroscopic Surveys"

Apr 22, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (Local Time Germany)

"Galaxy Clusters, Higher Order Statistics and Parity Violation"

Apr 22, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Intracluster Light as a Dark Matter Tracer in Galaxy Clusters"

Apr 22, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Playing Games with Quantum Entanglement and Other Correlations"

Apr 22, 2026 from 01:00 PM to 02:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Targeting Black Holes From Metal-Poor Progenitors (With Gravitational Waves)"

Apr 22, 2026 from 02:00 PM to 02:30 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Novae in Triple Star Systems as a Potential Formation Path of Li-Rich Stars"

Apr 22, 2026 from 02:30 PM to 03:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"The Radio Properties of Dusty Quasars"

Apr 22, 2026 from 02:30 PM to 03:30 PM (Local Time Germany)

USM Games Night

Apr 22, 2026 from 06:00 PM to 08:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"A Striking Excess of Red Quasars With Steep Radio Spectral Slopes: A Dusty Blow-Out Phase Revealed Through AGN-Driven Shocks?"

Apr 23, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM (Local Time Germany)

IMPRS Colloquium

Apr 23, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 01:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"New Perspectives Onto the Universe in the Multi-Messenger Astronomy Era"

Apr 23, 2026 from 03:15 PM to 04:15 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Latest Results From the NIKA2 MM Camera"

Apr 27, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

Upcoming seminars

"Differentiating Direct and Preventative AGN Jet Feedback via Jet Deceleration"

Apr 21, 2026 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPA, Room: Lecture Hall E.0.11

"The PLATO Mission: Science Data and Open Time Proposals"

Apr 21, 2026 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM (Local Time Germany)
ESO Garching, Room: Auditorium Telescopium

"Intracluster Light as a Dark Matter Tracer in Galaxy Clusters"

Apr 22, 2026 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPE, Room: HEG Meeting Room (1.3.27)

"Targeting Black Holes From Metal-Poor Progenitors (With Gravitational Waves)"

Apr 22, 2026 02:00 PM - 02:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPA, Room: Lecture Hall E.0.11

"Novae in Triple Star Systems as a Potential Formation Path of Li-Rich Stars"

Apr 22, 2026 02:30 PM - 03:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPA, Room: Lecture Hall E.0.11

"New Perspectives Onto the Universe in the Multi-Messenger Astronomy Era"

Apr 23, 2026 03:15 PM - 04:15 PM (Local Time Germany)
ESO Garching, Room: Auditorium Eridanus

Job Offers

No Vacancies

Meet our MPA fellows

Spirals, waves and gliding along

Spirals, waves and gliding along

September 06, 2023

While concerned with massive objects such as neutron stars and black holes in her work, Martyna Chruslinska loves the lightweight feeling of figure skating in her spare time.
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A look back forward

A look back forward

​​​​​​​​2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Max Planck Society. On February 26, 1948, in Göttingen, the proven concept of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society as a successful model of non-university research funding was rescued for the young Federal Republic, but also changed in a forward-looking way. Both are the basis of the MPG in its present form and success. The anniversary is celebrated as the most important caesura within the history of the MPG, which goes back to 1911, and at the same time sets the course for the future viability of the society, which must be discussed again and again.
Find out more in the MAX Intranet:
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About MPA

Structure

Managing Director
Prof. Dr. Selma E. de Mink

Scientific Members, Kollegium, Directors
Prof. Dr. Selma E. de Mink
Prof. Dr. Guinevere Kauffmann
Prof. Dr. Eiichiro Komatsu
Prof. Dr. Volker Springel

Emeritus Directors
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hillebrandt
Prof. Dr. Rashid Sunyaev
Prof. Dr. Simon White

External Scientific Members
Prof. Dr. Rolf-Peter Kudritzki
Prof. Dr. Werner Tscharnuter

Head of the administration
Pia Fischhaber

Contact

Press and Public Relations
Dr. Hannelore Haemmerle
Phone: 089 30000-2179
email: pr@mpa-garching.mpg.de

Dr. Hans-Thomas Janka
Phone: 089 30000-2228
(contact per phone only)

Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching
Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1
Postfach 1317
D-85741 Garching, Germany

Click for Travel directions

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