The image depicts an artistic rendering of a bright blazar, a supermassive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy, ejecting high-energy matter in the form of jets into space. The blazar appears as a glowing point of light with bluish-white rays scattering in various directions. In the background, a field of stars is visible, while the lower part of the image shows a portion of the Milky Way or another galaxy with brown and white gradients.

Science highlight 15/2024: Record discovery points to particle jets, support for rapid black hole formation, in the early universe

Astronomers have discovered an important piece of the puzzle of how supermassive black holes were able to grow so quickly in the early universe.
Science highlight 13/2024: Winds of change: James Webb Space Telescope reveals elusive details in young star systems

Science highlight 13/2024: Winds of change: James Webb Space Telescope reveals elusive details in young star systems

Nested morphology of gas streams confirms a mechanism that helps infant stars to grow by ingesting disk material.
MPIA News: Milestone reached

MPIA News: Milestone reached

The MICADO instrument for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) has passed the Final Design Review
In the foreground to the left is a sphere half illuminated on the right side, almost filling the image vertically. The surface consists of several parallel, pale-coloured bands aligned horizontally. To the top right is a much smaller orange, circular light source, illuminating the large sphere in the foreground. The background is black with numerous tiny white dots.

Science highlight 12/2024: Webb images nearest super-Jupiter, opening a new window to exoplanet research

The coldest and oldest exoplanet ever imaged agrees with models of planet evolution to solar system ages
A close-up of a star dominates the left side of the image. Its surface glows intensely in various shades of orange, showing irregular structures like darker spots. Delicate, glowing plasma filaments arc outward from the Sun's surface. On the right side of the image, a small rocky planet is visible, its reddish-brown surface marked with dark, mottled patterns. The background is black, dotted with a few white star-like points.

Science highlight 14/2024: Does the exoplanet Trappist-1 b have an atmosphere after all?

New observations reveal the challenges of detecting planetary atmospheres.

Departments

Planet and Star Formation

Planet and Star Formation

We study the formation of stars on all scales and the birth of planetary systems and their evolution. The Department established observational programs to search for extrasolar planets and to…
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Galaxies and Cosmology

Galaxies and Cosmology

Directly after the Big Bang, the universe was very simple and almost without structure. In the present universe, we see galaxies of various shapes and forms, aligned on an intricate weave of dark…
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Atmospheric Physics of Exoplanets (APEx)

Atmospheric Physics of Exoplanets (APEx)

We are in the midst of a revolution in the study of extrasolar planets. Thousands of recent discoveries have revealed that planets are common — most stars host at least one — and they show much…
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Independent Research Groups

Emeritus Research Group

Emeritus Research Group

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Thomas K. Henning
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Galactic Nuclei Group

Galactic Nuclei Group

Dr. Nadine Neumayer
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Astrophysical Spectroscopy and Stellar Populations

Astrophysical Spectroscopy and Stellar Populations

Dr. Maria Bergemann
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Public outreach

Astronomy for the Public

Astronomy for the Public

Astronomy is a fascinating subject, and the astronomers at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy see it as their responsibility to reach out to the general public, to teachers and pupils, and to the media.
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Sterne und Weltraum

Sterne und Weltraum

The magazine »Sterne und Weltraum« (Stars and Space) is the most widely circulated popular scientific astronomy magazine in the German-speaking countries. It was founded in Heidelberg over 60 years ago.
Videos

Videos

The Institute has produced a number of videos on various aspects of activities at MPIA. Among them are videos on astronomical research and instrumentation technology. Other videos feature the MPIA directors and provide information for the public.
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Social media

              
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