News at MPA

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. more

An international team of astronomers has created the most detailed 3D map yet of Lyman alpha light emitted by hydrogen in the early universe. Using Line Intensity Mapping on data by the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX), they identified faint galaxies and gas that were previously difficult to observe. This can now be compared to simulations of the structures in the early universe. The team processed half a petabyte of data to refine their map, revealing unseen objects and enhancing our understanding of galaxy evolution.  more

Munich astronomers image and model extremely rare gravitationally lensed supernova more

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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A pan-European group of astronomers has used newly developed computer technology to solve a 100 year-old puzzle. While most galaxies in our neighborhood move away from us almost as expected for an unperturbed cosmic expansion, our nearest giant neighbour is approaching at high speed. Systematic numerical experimentation demonstrates this rapid approach is due to massive dark matter haloes surrounding both Andromeda and our own Milky Way, but this mass does not slow down somewhat more distant galaxies because its effects are counteracted by more distant dark matter which lies in a vast flattened sheet out to distances well beyond the neighboring galaxies considered.   more

Million–Solar-Mass Enigma Shows Traits of a Tiny Galaxy—But Its Inner Structure Defies Explanation more

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. more