On 10 December 1999, the European Space Agency's X-ray satellite XMM-Newton began its journey to investigate X-ray sources in the universe. The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) has been involved for three decades with software development and data analysis. To mark the anniversary, the AIP is publishing a video with contributions from AIP researchers on science using the satellite's X-ray data.

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The STELLA observatory in Tenerife studied a star’s surface for 16 years. Unlike the cyclic spots on our sun, this star exhibited chaotic, non-periodic star spot behavior, revealing a fundamentally different dynamo mechanism. The groundbreaking study has now been published in Nature Communications.

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The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded a grant of 2 million euros to the “Evaporator” project led by Professor Katja Poppenhäger.

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Last November 4th a contract was signed to fund the conceptual study of a new telescope, the Wide Field Spectroscopic Telescope (WST), which could potentially become operational in Chile after 2040. The consortium leading the WST project will receive three million euros to fund a detailed conceptual study over the next three years, from 2025 to 2027.

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In honour of Prof. Dr. Johann Wempe (1906 – 1980), the last director of the former Astrophysical Observatory of Potsdam (AOP), the AIP grants the Johann Wempe Award to outstanding scientists. Applications and nominations are accepted until 31st January 2025.

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Over the winter months, the historic telescope now opens its dome again for public observation evenings. On six dates between November 2024 and April 2025 anyone who is interested will have the opportunity to take a look through the world's fourth-largest refracting telescope.

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