MPIA News

Eva Schinnerer, head of a research group in Hans-Walter Rix's Galaxies and Cosmology (GC) department at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, has been awarded one of the European Research Council's (ERC) highly endowed and highly coveted funding awards. Their project entitled "Galaxy Centers: Understanding Star Formation in Extreme Environments" will be funded with almost 2.44 million euros as part of an ERC Advanced Grant.
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In a major project milestone, the first 17 papers with scientific results from the exoALMA project have been published. The project has studied 15 protoplanetary disks around young stars in unprecedented detail, revealing the complex dynamics within these planetary birthplaces. The results are based on observations with the ALMA observatory, and were obtained using newly developed techniques for producing particularly detailed images with ALMA.
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Germany’s role in unveiling the dark universe more

On 3 March 2025, our highly esteemed colleague Prof. Dr. Christoph Leinert passed away in Heidelberg at the age of 84. Christoph Leinert was not only an internationally recognised scientist in the field of young star research but also a colleague who, with his calm and thoughtful nature, left a lasting mark on the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy over many years. more

Heidelberg-based researchers have published data for the largest detailed simulation of the formation and evolution of massive galaxy clusters in the cosmos. The simulation uses a clever technique that allowed the researchers to obtain a sample of several hundred simulated massive clusters, with each cluster simulated in considerable detail. The simulation has already led to a number of insights into the physics of galaxy clusters. Now, its data is published in full, allowing other scientists to use this model universe for their research.  more