eROSITA relaxes cosmological tension
Results from the first X-ray sky survey resolve the previous inconsistency between competing measurements of the structure of the Universe
The X-ray sky opens to the world
First eROSITA sky-survey data release makes public the largest ever catalogue of high-energy cosmic sources
Weighing a Black Hole in the early universe
With the upgraded GRAVITY-instrument at the ESO VLTI, a team of astronomers led by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics has determined the mass of a Black Hole in a galaxy only 2 billion years after the Big Bang. With 300 million solar masses, the black hole is actually under-massive compared to the mass of its host galaxy, indicating that at least for some systems there might be a delay between the growth of the galaxy and its central black hole.
Webb shines light on early interstellar grain growth
In a groundbreaking study, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observed the early stages of the growth of dust grains in the dense Chamaeleon I cloud. These cold dust grains have accumulated molecular solids on their surface early in the process leading to star formation, challenging previous assumptions on where and when grain growth occurs.
New wide-field X-ray mission will revolutionise search for transient high-energy events
The X-ray satellite “Einstein Probe” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was launched successfully from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China on a Long March-2C rocket on January 9th, 2024. Equipped with cutting-edge X-ray mirrors and detectors, with major contributions from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), the spacecraft will start a new era in high-energy time-domain astrophysics.
