The cosmic-ray ionization rate in the local Milky Way is ten times lower than previously thought

The cosmic-ray ionization rate in the local Milky Way is ten times lower than previously thought

An international group of astrophysicists, led by MPE scientists Marta Obolentseva, Alexei Ivlev, Kedron Silsbee, and Paola Caselli, have revisited the long-standing problem of evaluating the rate at which cosmic rays ionize gas in the interstellar medium.

Open House Day 2024

Open House Day 2024

Join us at MPE on October 3, 2024 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and get an exciting insight into our work! The tour of MPE will take you to 18 stations. From black holes and galaxies to telescopes, electronics and the precision mechanics workshop: There's something to discover everywhere! 
There will also be a children's program as part of the Door Opener Day with the Sendung mit der Maus. You can also look forward to exciting presentations and much more. So come and explore the secrets of the universe with us!

Hyper-luminous, Yet Surprisingly Organized

Hyper-luminous, Yet Surprisingly Organized

The galaxy PJ0116-24 lives about 10 billion years ago and appears about 10,000 times brighter in the infrared than our Milky Way. It belongs to a rare population of so-called hyper-luminous infrared galaxies (HyLIRG), which are usually formed by the collision of several galaxies. Members of the Infrared Group at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) including Daizhong Liu and Natascha M. Förster Schreiber, together with researchers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and other international institutes, now showed that a HyLIRG can also arise in a massive turbulent rotating disk within a single galaxy, where the gas is organized in a structured way. This finding was made possible through new observations including from the novel ERIS instrument at the ESO Very Large Telescope, built by a consortium also led by the MPE Infrared Group, and strong magnification caused by a massive elliptical galaxy that lies between us and PJ0116-24. This galaxy acts as a gravitational lens stretching PJ0116-24 in an “Einstein ring” and making it appear 17 times brighter.

JWST sheds Light on the Journey of Cosmic Icy Grains

JWST sheds Light on the Journey of Cosmic Icy Grains

Using the JWST, a team of researchers including Paola Caselli and Michela Giuliano from MPE, have probed deep into dense cloud cores, revealing details of interstellar ice that were previously unobservable. The study focuses on the Chamaeleon I region, using JWST’s NIRCam to measure spectroscopic lines towards hundreds of stars behind the cloud.

Massive black holes in low-mass galaxies: what happened to the X-ray Corona? 

Massive black holes in low-mass galaxies: what happened to the X-ray Corona?
 

Identifying massive black holes in low-mass galaxies is crucial for understanding black hole formation and growth over cosmic time but challenging due to their low accretion luminosities. Astronomers at MPE, led by Riccardo Arcodia, used the eROSITA X-ray telescope's all-sky survey to study massive black hole candidates selected based on variability in other wavelength ranges. Surprisingly, despite being flagged as accreting MBHs, the X-rays were weak and didn't match predictions from more massive AGN scaling relations. This discrepancy suggests either the absence of a canonical X-ray corona or the presence of unusual accretion modes and spectral energy distributions in these dwarf galaxy MBHs.

Webb Finds Plethora of Carbon Molecules Around Young Star

Webb Finds Plethora of Carbon Molecules Around Young Star

An international team of astronomers have used the NASA/ESA/Webb James Webb Space Telescope to study the disc around a young and very low-mass star. The results reveal the richest hydrocarbon chemistry seen to date in a protoplanetary disc (including the first extrasolar detection of ethane) and contribute to our evolving understanding of the diversity of planetary systems.
 

ESA's Euclid celebrates first science with sparkling cosmic views 

ESA's Euclid celebrates first science with sparkling cosmic views
 

Analysis of the early release observations provides insights into the evolution of the Perseus galaxy cluster

Cosmic dance of the ‘Space Clover’

Cosmic dance of the ‘Space Clover’

A group led by MPE has, for the first time, detected X-ray gas at the location of the cloverleaf ORC, an odd radio circle (ORC). The origin of ORCs is unknown; in the case of the cloverleaf ORC, the combined data from different wavelengths indicate that the emission is due to a merger of two small galaxy groups.

Einstein Probe First Light 

Einstein Probe First Light
 

Images confirm new X-ray satellite’s revolutionary capability to detect and follow-up explosive events in the high-energy Universe
 

eROSITA relaxes cosmological tension 

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 

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

People and Project News

Upcoming events

LISA Astrophysics Working Group Meeting

Registration is now open and is compulsory! Deadline is August 5th 2024
Nov 5, 2024 09:00 AM (Local Time Germany) - Nov 7, 2024 06:00 PM
MPA, Garching, Room: MPA and online
MPE60 years: May 15th!
On 15 May MPE turned 60! If you want to officially say happy birthday, please check MPE social Media accounts and like, share and comment. You can also send greetings and explain why you like to work at MPE :-)
Reinhard Genzel receives the Nobel Prize for Physics 2020
The Max Planck Director is honored for his observations of the black hole in the Galactic Center
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