The animation explains the detection of water in the zone near the star PDS 70, where rocky planets usually form. First we see the starry sky and approach the position of PDS 70. Then the video shows two different observations of the planet-forming disk with the positions of the two gas giant planets. Finally, we see a section of the spectrum with…
This video introduces the team at MPIA working on Euclid, an ESA mission designed to explore the composition and evolution of the dark universe. This space telescope is set to launch on 1 July 2023 at 17:11 h CEST from Cape Canaveral using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. MPIA is a member of the Euclid Consortium and has been involved in the project…
The James Webb Space Telescope allows us to see what kind of molecules exist in the regions where planets are forming, and offers an insight into how the building-blocks for complex organic molecules arrived on Earth. MPIA director Thomas Henning tells us about the discovery of water in the planet-forming disk of young star PDS-70, as well as how…
The James Webb Space Telescope allows us to characterize the atmospheres of distant exoplanets like never before - including the seven rocky planets orbiting red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1. In this video, MPIA director Laura Kreidberg describes the some of the exciting new findings made in this field using JWST data, and what was discovered on planets…
Thanks to infrared instruments like MIRI, the James Webb Space Telescope allows us to study some of the oldest and most distant objects in the universe. Oliver Krause, head of the Infrared Space Astronomy Research Group, describes the technical challenges of observing in the infrared, as well as some of the exciting discoveries and record-breaking…
In order to work in outer space, the various instruments aboard the James Webb Space Telescope had to undergo a series of rigorous tests. Among these instruments is the MIRI, with its filter wheel built and tested by MPIA staff, including Dr. Silvia Scheithauer of the Instrumentation Team. In this video, Silvia discusses the challenges encountered…
The animation illustrates the observation of TRAPPIST-1 c. It starts with a top view of the planetary system of TRAPPIST-1 and then rotates to the perspective as observed from Earth. We see the primary and secondary eclipses as the planet passes in front of the star and then disappears behind it, respectively. Finally, the signature of the…
MICADO is one of the three first instruments for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), Europe’s next-generation ground-based telescope for optical and infrared wavelengths which is currently under construction at the ESO site at Cerro Armazones in Chile. This video introduces the instrument and the scientific goals it pursues.More information in the…
METIS is one of the three first instruments for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), Europe’s next-generation ground-based telescope for optical and infrared wavelengths which is currently under construction at the ESO site at Cerro Armazones in Chile. This video introduces the instrument and the scientific goals it pursues.More information in the…
The animation shows the results of the measurements carried out with the MIRI spectrograph of the JWST to characterise the exoplanet GJ 1214 b. From left to right: temperature curve along the east-west direction, centred around longitude zero, which indicates the point directly below the central star; heat map of the planet’s surface in Kelvin…
Opening event of the travelling exhibition “Our biggest eye in space” by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and the Haus der Astronomie about the James Webb Space Telescope – live from the Planetarium Mannheim, the first station of the exhibition. Keynote speaker Prof. Dr. Thomas Henning from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy will report…
