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Welcome!

The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) is dedicated to astrophysical questions ranging from the exploration of our Sun to the evolution of the cosmos. It focuses on the study of stellar, solar and exoplanetary physics, extragalactic astrophysics and the development of research technologies in the fields of spectroscopy, robotic telescopes and E-science.

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MUSE Ultra Deep Field

Babelsberg Starry Night on 19th February 2026

The AIP invites to a live Babelsberg Starry Night on Thursday, 19.02.2026 at the research campus Babelsberg with Director Prof. Dr. Katja Poppenhäger talking about „Exoplanets – Strange worlds around far stars”. The same night, the YouTube-Channel Urknall, Weltall und das Leben publishes a virtual lecture by Dr. Ramona Augustin regarding the circumgalactic medium, the gas surrounding galaxies. Both lectures are held in German.

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AIP awards 2026 Johann Wempe Prize to Dr Sebastian Kamann

On Wednesday, 11 February 2026, the AIP will award the Johann Wempe Prize to Dr Sebastian Kamann from Liverpool John Moores University for his outstanding research on the formation and evolution of massive globular clusters.

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AIP technology on Paranal: German Federal Minister of Research visits ESO observatory in Chile

A high-ranking delegation led by Dorothee Bär, Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space in Gerrmany visited the Paranal Observatory of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile on 4 and 5 February 2026. The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) was represented by Prof. Dr. Matthias Steinmetz, Scientific Director of the AIP and member of the ESO Council.

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Research Area I: Stellar, Solar and Exoplanetary Physics

Cosmic events are determined by two natural forces: gravity and magnetic fields. The magnetic field research at the AIP is mainly focused on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations, the magnetically induced activities on the Sun and the stars, solar coronaphysics as well as space weather in our solar system and on planets around other stars.

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Research Area II: Extragalactic Astrophysics

Galaxies are fundamental cosmic building blocks. At the largest scales, they serve as markers to study the distribution of matter in the universe - active galaxies and quasars are particularly important because of their intrinsic brightness. Nearby objects can be spatially resolved and consist of populations with very different patterns of motion, star formation histories and chemical abundances.

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Latest News
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Babelsberg Starry Night on 19th February 2026
Feb. 13, 2026

The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) invites to a live Babelsberg Starry Night on Thursday, 19.02.2026 at the research campus Babelsberg with Director Prof. Dr. Katja Poppenhäger talking about „Exoplanets – Strange worlds around far stars”. The same night, the YouTube-ChannelUrknall, Weltall und das Leben publishes a virtual lecture by Dr. Ramona Augustin regarding the circumgalactic medium, the gas surrounding galaxies. Both lectures are held in German.

[more]
Wempe_Kamann_SG26138

AIP awards 2026 Johann Wempe Prize to Dr Sebastian Kamann
Feb. 12, 2026

On Wednesday, 11 February 2026, the AIP awarded the Johann Wempe Prize to Dr Sebastian Kamann from Liverpool John Moores University for his outstanding research on the formation and evolution of massive globular clusters.

[more]
German Federal Ministry of Research visits ESO observatory in Chile

AIP technology on Paranal: German Federal Minister of Research visits ESO observatory in Chile
Feb. 6, 2026

A high-ranking delegation led by Dorothee Bär, Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space in Gerrmany visited the Paranal Observatory of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile on 4 and 5 February 2026. The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) was represented by Prof. Dr. Matthias Steinmetz, Scientific Director of the AIP and member of the ESO Council.

[more]
 

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Latest Publications

An objective, automated method to detect and characterize semi-resolved star clusters

Miller, A. E., ... Cioni, M.-R. L., ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 546, 3, stag081 – Published March 2026
doi:10.1093/mnras/stag081, NASA ADS

Detailed Chemical Abundance Analysis of the Brightest Stars in the Turranburra and Willka Yaku Stellar Streams

Webber, K. B., ... Cullinane, L. R., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 998, 1, 114 – Published February 2026
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae2d59, NASA ADS

On the Use of Field RR Lyrae as Galactic Probes. VIII. Early Formation of the Galactic Spheroid

Bono, G., ... Kwak, S., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 998, 1, 86 – Published February 2026
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae2c60, NASA ADS
AIP Research Groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume

Ancient Relic Moderately Metal-rich Bulge Cluster Tonantzintla 2

Ortolani, S., ... Chiappini, C., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 998, 1, L8 – Published February 2026
doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ae3b3e, NASA ADS
AIP Research Groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume

Chemodynamics of Boötes I with S5: Revised Velocity Gradient, Dark Matter Density, and Galactic Chemical Evolution Constraints

Sandford, N. R., ... Cullinane, L. R., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 998, 1, 47 – Published February 2026
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae2fe5, NASA ADS

Unveiling the Impact of Cosmic Rays on the Disc Sizes and Outflows from Dwarf Scales to Galaxy Groups

Bieri, R., ... Pfrommer, C., ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society – Published February 2026
doi:10.1093/mnras/stag216, NASA ADS

Infrared spectropolarimetry of a C-class solar flare footpoint plasma: I. Spectral features and forward modelling

Vashalomidze, Z., ... Denker, C., Verma, M., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 706, A116 – Published February 2026
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202557526, NASA ADS
AIP Research Groups: Solar Physics

Rediscovering the Milky Way with an orbit superposition approach and APOGEE data: IV. The disc growth and history of star formation

Ratcliffe, B., Khoperskov, S., ... Minchev, I., ... Marques, L., Bernaldez, J. P., Krajnović, D., Steinmetz, M.
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 706, A103 – Published February 2026
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202557057, NASA ADS

The binary ballet: Mapping local expansion around M 81 and M 82

Wagner, J., Benisty, D., Karachentsev, I. D.
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 706, A92 – Published February 2026
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202557876, NASA ADS

Probing the kinematics of the Local Group with chemically enriched gas in the HESTIA simulations

Biaus, L., ... Richter, P., ... Libeskind, N. I., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 706, A76 – Published February 2026
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202555861, NASA ADS

An efficient spectral Poisson solver for the NIRVANA-III code: The shearing box case with vertical vacuum boundary conditions

Restrepo, S. R., Gressel, O.
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 706, A65 – Published February 2026
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202557659, NASA ADS

Peak-intensity energy spectra of intense solar energetic electron events measured with Solar Orbiter in 2020─2022

Fedeli, A., ... Warmuth, A., Schuller, F., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 706, A107 – Published February 2026
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202555915, NASA ADS
AIP Research Groups: Solar Physics

Accretion History of AGNs: A Multiwavelength Comparison of X-Ray- and Infrared-selected AGNs

Kelly, T., ... Powell, M., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 997, 2, 366 – Published February 2026
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae2a32, NASA ADS
AIP Research Groups: Galaxies and Quasars

Heavy Seeds and the First Black Holes: Insights from the BRAHMA Simulations

Bhowmick, A. K., ... Weinberger, R., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 997, 2, 187 – Published February 2026
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae2607, NASA ADS

Project AMIGA: The Inner Circumgalactic Medium of Andromeda from Thick Disk to Halo

Lehner, N., ... Augustin, R., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 997, 2, 183 – Published February 2026
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae1f13, NASA ADS
AIP Research Groups: Galaxies and Quasars

The Low-mass and Structured Stellar Halo of M83 Argues Against a Merger Origin for Its Starburst and Extended Neutral Hydrogen Disk

Bell, E. F., ... de Jong, R. S., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 997, 2, 153 – Published February 2026
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae2c5e, NASA ADS
AIP Research Groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume

Revisiting the Atmosphere of HAT-P-70b with CARMENES High-resolution Transmission Spectroscopy

Gan, T., ... Lesjak, F., ...
The Astronomical Journal, 171, 2, 89 – Published February 2026
doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ae2add, NASA ADS
AIP Research Groups: Stellar Physics and Exoplanets

The THESAN-ZOOM project: the hidden neighbours of O I absorbers during reionization

Pruto, G., ... Puchwein, E., ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 546, 2, stag064 – Published February 2026
doi:10.1093/mnras/stag064, NASA ADS

PEPSI Investigation, Retrieval, and Atlas of Numerous Giant Atmospheres (PIRANGA). II. Phase-resolved Cross-correlation Transmission Spectroscopy of KELT-20b

Lenhart, C., ... Strassmeier, K. G., Ilyin, I.
The Astronomical Journal, 171, 2, 81 – Published February 2026
doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ae2252, NASA ADS
AIP Research Groups: Stellar Activity, High-resolution Spectroscopy and Polarimetry (now: Astronomical Spectroscopic Instrumentation), Astronomical Spectroscopic Instrumentation

An improved model for the effect of correlated Si III absorption on the one-dimensional Lyman-α forest power spectrum

Ma, K., Bolton, J. S., Iršič, V., Gaikwad, P., Puchwein, E.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 546, 1, staf2262 – Published February 2026
doi:10.1093/mnras/staf2262, NASA ADS

[List of AIP publications] [AIP publications in ADS]

 

Events and dates at AIP

Special Seminar | Dr. Fabian Schmidt (MPA)
16.02.2026, 11:00 – 12:00
Scientific

Speaker: Dr. Fabian Schmidt (MPA)
Title: New physics in the large-scale structure

[more]

AIP Seminar | Kseniia Sysoliatina (AIP)
17.02.2026, 14:30 – 15:30
Scientific

Speaker: Kseniia Sysoliatina (AIP)
Title: White Dwarfs as Probes of the Milky Way’s Star Formation History

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Colloquium | Ralf Klessen (ITA, Heidelberg)
19.02.2026, 14:30 – 15:30
Scientific

Speaker: Ralf Klessen (ITA, Heidelberg)
Title: topic: local ISM

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Babelsberg Starry Night - Live at the campus babelsberg
19.02.2026, 19:15 – 21:00
Public Event

The AIP invites you to a live Babelsberg Starry Night at the Babelsberg campus:

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Virtual Babelsberg Starry Night
19.02.2026, 20:00 – 21:00
Public Event

Talk (in German): The circumgalactic medium: Searching for hidden matter (Ramona Augustin)

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AIP Seminar | Iva Vilović (AIP)
24.02.2026, 14:30 – 15:30
Scientific

Speaker: Iva Vilović (AIP)
Title: tba.

[more]

Observation evening in the Great Refractor
26.02.2026, 19:00 – 20:00
Public Event

The AIP invites to a public observation evening in the Great Refractor at the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam. Prior registration required, see Observation Evenings.

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AIP Seminar | Hyoyin Gan (AIP)
03.03.2026, 14:30 – 15:30
Scientific

Speaker: Hyoyin Gan (AIP)
Title: Calibration and analysis of big data from radio interferometers

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Colloquium | Romain Teyssier (Princeton)
05.03.2026, 14:30 – 15:30
Scientific

Speaker: Romain Teyssier (Princeton)
Title: TBD

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Jamboree (ISC)
10.03.2026, 14:30 – 15:30
Internal Event
[more]

External Colloquium | Anna Watts
12.03.2026, 14:30 – 15:30
Scientific

Speaker: Anna Watts (University of Amsterdam | Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Title: TBD

[more]

37th XMM-SSC Consortium Meeting 2026
17.03.2026 – 19.03.2026
Scientific

The XMM-Newton Survey Science Centre (XMM-SSC) is an international consortium across several countries and was selected by ESA to facilitate exploiting XMM-Newton's survey capacities. The XMM-SSC and ESA teams develop the science analysis software suite and the serendipitous source catalogues. In preparation of the 5th catalogue generation, the 37th consortium meeting convenes consortium members, interested scientists from the consortium institutes, and ESA scientists to discuss XMM-Newton science and developments.

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Career Event (Sydney Barnes)
17.03.2026, 14:30 – 16:00
Scientific
[more]

Babelsberg Starry Night - Live at the campus babelsberg
19.03.2026, 19:15 – 21:00
Public Event

The AIP invites you to a live Babelsberg Starry Night at the Babelsberg campus:

[more]

AIP Seminar | Virginia A. Cúneo (AIP)
24.03.2026, 14:30 – 15:30
Scientific

Speaker: Virginia A. Cúneo (AIP)
Title: TBD

[more]

Special Seminar | Laura Spitler (MPIFR Bonn)
26.03.2026, 14:30 – 15:30
Scientific

Speaker: Laura Spitler (MPIFR Bonn)
Title: TBD

[more]

Observation evening in the Great Refractor
27.03.2026, 19:00 – 20:00
Public Event

The AIP invites to a public observation evening in the Great Refractor at the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam. Prior registration required, see Observation Evenings.

[more]

External Colloquium | Giuseppe Lodato
16.04.2026, 14:30 – 15:30
Scientific

Speaker: Giuseppe Lodato (Università degli Studi di Milano Statale | Milan, Italy)
Title: TBD

[more]

Babelsberg Starry Night - Live at the campus babelsberg
16.04.2026, 19:15 – 21:00
Public Event

The AIP invites you to a live Babelsberg Starry Night at the Babelsberg campus:

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Public Event
Scientific
Internal Event
Holidays

Conferences
Spacecraft in front of the Sun

STIX Team Meeting
Oct. 6, 2025 – Oct. 9, 2025
[Website]
PUNCH4NFDI-Logo_RGB

PUNCH4NFDI Annual Meeting 2025
Nov. 19, 2025 – Nov. 20, 2025
[Website]
Banner XMM Newton SSC

37th XMM-SSC Consortium Meeting 2026
March 17, 2026 – March 19, 2026
[Website]