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

Portrait of Eric Roth in front of trees and a distant landscape.

Whether by bike or on skis: outdoors is key!

April 24, 2026

Eric Rohr came to MPA to benefit from the numerical and scientific expertise here, and was not expecting the full programme of social events. 
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Portrait of a man with dark glasses

Biermann lectures 2026: Cosmology and AI

April 21, 2026

by Prof. Benjamin D. Wandelt, Johns Hopkins University 
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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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All news
April 2026
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
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13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30
"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)

"Fundamentals of Deep Learning"

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

"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)

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

Apr 21, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 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)

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

Apr 22, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 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)

"The SMBH Factory: Ready, Set, Go"

Apr 23, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

IMPRS Colloquium

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

"The First Breath of Rocky Worlds: How Magma Oceans Create Planetary Atmospheres"

Apr 23, 2026 from 12:15 PM to 02:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

ISAPP School 2026 - Pre-Registration Deadline (TUM PhD Students)

Apr 27, 2026 from 12:00 AM to 01:00 AM (Local Time Germany)

"Latest Results from the NIKA2 mm Camera"

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

"Is There an Ideal Tool to Model Cosmic Reionization?"

Apr 27, 2026 from 03:30 PM to 04:30 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Completing the Puzzle: A High-Energy Perspective on Young Star Clusters and Their Environments"

Apr 28, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (Local Time Germany)

"Efficiently Emulating Distribution Functions in Gigaparsec Volumes for Varying Cosmological Parameters"

Apr 28, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

This event will take place in Room 006.

"Peering Down the Barrel With DESI DR2: 10,000+ Inflows at z < 0.6"

Apr 28, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 12:45 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Recent Progress and Developments in Fusion Research (Where We Are on the Path to a Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor)"

Apr 28, 2026 from 03:00 PM to 05:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Novel Forward and Inverse Approaches to Modelling the Observable Universe"

Apr 29, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Cluster Bootstrap for Seven-Particle Amplitudes and a Quiver Construction for Form Factor Alphabets"

Apr 29, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"When is a Quantum Computer Really Quantum?"

Apr 29, 2026 from 01:00 PM to 02:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"White Dwarf Binaries: Accretion Physics, Gravitational Wave Sources, and Thermonuclear Supernovae"

Apr 29, 2026 from 02:00 PM to 02:30 PM (Local Time Germany)

"3D Insights into SN1987A: ALMA Observations Compared to Hydrodynamical Explosion Simulations"

Apr 29, 2026 from 02:30 PM to 03:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Do Galaxy Mergers Increase Star Formation and Turbulence at Cosmic Noon?"

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

"How the Atmosphere Determines the Surface Temperature of a Planet"

Apr 30, 2026 from 02:15 PM to 04:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

"Gravitational Wave and Electromagnetic Signatures of Binary Black Holes With Circumbinary Gas"

Apr 30, 2026 from 03:15 PM to 04:15 PM (Local Time Germany)

Upcoming seminars

"Latest Results from the NIKA2 mm Camera"

Apr 27, 2026 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPE, Room: X5/1.1.18b

"Is There an Ideal Tool to Model Cosmic Reionization?"

Apr 27, 2026 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPA, Room: New Seminar Room, E.0.11

"Efficiently Emulating Distribution Functions in Gigaparsec Volumes for Varying Cosmological Parameters"

This event will take place in Room 006.
Apr 28, 2026 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPA, Room: 006 (downstairs)

"Peering Down the Barrel With DESI DR2: 10,000+ Inflows at z < 0.6"

Apr 28, 2026 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM (Local Time Germany)
ESO Garching, Room: Auditorium Telescopium

"Recent Progress and Developments in Fusion Research (Where We Are on the Path to a Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor)"

Apr 28, 2026 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPP, Room: A.1.01 - Alps

"White Dwarf Binaries: Accretion Physics, Gravitational Wave Sources, and Thermonuclear Supernovae"

Apr 29, 2026 02:00 PM - 02:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPA, Room: Lecture Hall E.0.11

"3D Insights into SN1987A: ALMA Observations Compared to Hydrodynamical Explosion Simulations"

Apr 29, 2026 02:30 PM - 03:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPA, Room: Lecture Hall E.0.11

Job Offers

No Vacancies

Meet our MPA fellows

Portrait of Eric Roth in front of trees and a distant landscape.

Whether by bike or on skis: outdoors is key!

April 24, 2026

Eric Rohr came to MPA to benefit from the numerical and scientific expertise here, and was not expecting the full programme of social events. 
more
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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