Astronomers have witnessed a planet causing eruptions on its parent star. The discovery, published in Nature, could reshape our understanding of how planets and stars interact and evolve together.

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The next talk of the Virtual Babelsberg Starry Nights of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) on the topic "What binary stars tell us about the rotation of stars" (German) by Dr. David Gruner will be broadcast on the YouTube channel “Urknall, Weltall und das Leben” (Big Bang, Universe and Life) from Thursday, 19.06.2025.

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The integration and testing phase of 4MOST, is nearing completion. Over the coming weeks, the final components of this powerful instrument are being carefully packed. Media representatives are invited for a behind-the-scenes look and a special event on June 10 ahead of 4MOST’s final shipment to Chile.

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Large and complex sunspot groups characterize the surface of the dynamic Sun during its activity cycle. A new camera system at the Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT) at the Observatorio del Teide on Tenerife uses image restoration methods to capture small structures in active areas. This has resulted in unique, high-resolution images that reveal the smallest details in active regions of the Sun's surface.

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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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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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