548 search results for “black holes” in the Public website
-
The launch of a new era: Leiden and the James Webb telescope (part II)
After 25 years, December will finally see the launch of the long-awaited James Webb space telescope. Leiden astronomers are watching with great excitement: not only were they involved in the construction of important instruments on board, the telescope will also reveal many new secrets of the universe,…
-
How the scientific community can learn from failures
The Astronomy & Society group of Leiden Observatory takes a new turn in science: they have decided to share their rejected research proposals with the scientific community. ‘We put a lot of effort into them, and now hopefully others can benefit from our work. Maybe it even results in new collaborations,’…
-
Software, star clusters and supercomputers
Simon Portegies Zwart, professor of Computational Astrophysics, uses computers to simulate the evolution of stars. We speak with him about his field and about the challenges of working with huge amounts of complex data.
-
From in-person lectures to a first-class degree: our year on social media
Covid year 2021 might have felt somewhat less strange than the year before, but the virus still left its mark on University life and our students and staff. Fortunately there was also room for research, visiting dignitaries and in-person classes. And our social media accounts weren’t only about covid…
-
Royal honour for astronomer Tim de Zeeuw
Leiden astronomer Tim de Zeeuw has been appointed Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion. He received the distinction on 14 May to mark his departure as Director General of the ESO European Astronomy organisation. The celebration took place during the 2018 Dutch Astronomers Conference in Groningen.
-
HundrED selects IAU astroEDU as a top 100 education innovation
AstroEDU is one of the world's most inspiring education innovations, according to the experts at HundrED. It is a recognition for a place where educators can discover, review, change, and share astronomy- and space-related activities for primary and secondary education, and where they can have their…
-
ERC Consolidator Grants for four Leiden researchers
From fake news via WhatsApp to mini hearts from a 3D printer: four Leiden researchers have been awarded a Consolidator Grant by the European Research Council. These grants, of up to 2m euros, enable researchers to establish or expand their research team and continue to develop their career.
-
Major upgrade for undersea neutrino detector
Building the neutrino detector KM3NeT on the Mediterranean Sea floor has picked up pace. Five detection lines, each carrying eighteen detectors, have been sunk and installed, and the first measurement data are coming in, says neutrino physicist Dorothea Samtleben.
-
Newton-telescope finds missing intergalactic material
Astronomers from, among others, SRON and Leiden Observatory have discovered long-sought intergalactic gas with ESA’s space telescope XMM-Newton. This gas is one of the pieces of the puzzle to map the total amount of ‘normal’ matter in the universe. The research will be published in Nature on 21 June…
-
Mariska Kriek is back – but this time as a professor
She left Leiden after her PhD and now, 14 years later, she returns as Professor of Extragalactic Astronomy. Mariska Kriek investigates how galaxies originate and evolve. And she is eagerly awaiting the launch for the new James Webb telescope: ‘The coolest things we are going to find are those we’re…
-
Astronomers map the cosmic spider web
An international team of astronomers from Leiden Observatory and others, has for the first time mapped a piece of the dark, cosmic web. The research strengthens the hypothesis that the young universe consisted of huge numbers of small groups of newly formed stars. The astronomers publish their findings…
-
Grants to build large-scale research facilities
Five projects with researchers from Leiden University have received a grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) to build or upgrade existing research facilities.
-
Quantum optics for asylum seekers
The Clinical Epidemiology department at the LUMC has set up a series of lectures for asylum seekers. The series has become a huge success.
-
‘Do something for the broader astronomy community as well’
As Director-General of the ESO for the past ten years, Leiden University astronomer Tim de Zeeuw had ‘the best astronomy job in the world’. Back at the Leiden Observatory, he is focusing on the first 3D map of the Milky Way.
-
It takes two (or more) to build a telescope
How do stars and galaxies form? What is dark matter? To answer these and other questions, we need increasingly large telescopes. And to build these, we need international partnerships. A series on the impact of collaboration.
-
Life after a life sentence
The state should prepare 'lifers' better for returning to society, for example by giving them some control over their own lives. This is the finding of Marieke Liem in her book 'After Life Imprisonment', published on 19 August.
-
Four Leiden consortia awarded large NWO grants
No less than four Leiden research teams have been awarded a grant by NWO. On 27 July NWO honoured 21 applications in the Open Competition ENW-XL. NWO awards the grants to consortia in the exact and natural sciences who are doing unconnected fundamental research that is 'driven by curiosity'.
-
Vici grant for research on the formation of galaxies
How do galaxies form? That is what astronomer Mariska Kriek will be researching in the coming years. She received an NWO Vici grant of 1.5 million euros to study galaxies in the early universe. ‘This research uses new and unprecedented observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). These allow…
-
A look behind the scenes at the Leiden Science Family Day
More than 700 visitors got to know the Science Faculty during the Leiden Science Family Day. People of all ages could enjoy fascinating experiments, tours, interesting lectures, spectacular nitrogen shows and various workshops. It was an informative day with many (future) scientists, amazement and,…
-
Strong impetus for South Holland space research
The SRON space research institute, Leiden University and the TU Delft are appointing six researchers to jointly carry out space research. The research will focus on exoplanets, the evolution of structure in the Universe and technology for developing new pioneering space instruments.
-
Quantum computing pioneer Seth Lloyd is the 2019 Lorentz Professor
American physicist and quantum computing pioneer Seth Lloyd is the 65th Lorentz professor. He will deliver the Ehrenfest lecture on 5 June, and several more lectures on quantum computing on 11, 18 and 25 June.
-
Scattering and absorption in 2D optics
Scattering of light in the presence of nano-structured materials, i.e. with features in the order of the wavelength of the light or smaller, reveals details of how light interacts with matter at the nanoscale.
-
Democratization and political terrorism: The formation and destruction of the two-party system in the Red River Valley of Louisiana, 1865-1868
The project examines the political conflict in the Red River Valley of Louisiana between the majority-black Republican Party and the overwhelmingly white Democratic Party by studying the composition and actions of each party.
-
Predrinks Oort lecture
Alumni event
-
Alkynes in Covalent Enzyme Inhibitors: Down the Kinetic Rabbit Hole
PhD defence
-
Towards chemically accurate simulation of molecule-surface reactions
This perspective addresses four challenges facing theorists whose aim is to make quantitatively accurate predictions for reactions of molecules on metal surfaces, and suggests ways of meeting these challenges, focusing on dissociative chemisorption reactions of H2, N2, and CH4.
-
Prying eyes on radio skies: pushing the high-resolution low-frequency frontier with LOFAR
In this thesis we push the boundaries of high-resolution imaging at radio frequencies between 100 and 200 MHz. Using the International LOFAR Telescope that spans across Europe we achieve sub-arcsecond angular resolution.
-
Photographic Traditions in South African Popular Modernities
In the South African context, certain iconic images have been a dominant source for public understandings of historical events. The emphasis given these images tends to overshadow the historical value of other more personal photographic sources – like studio or amateur photography. This project looks…
-
In memoriam: Maolin Zhang
We are grief-stricken that our PhD student Maolin Zhang passed away during the early morning of January 17th 2019. He died during a terrible fire that took place at his house in Hillegom.
-
Gerard van Westen: 'Our model predicts what candidate drugs do in your body'
He’s a fast and animated speaker, which is only logical because Gerard van Westen is driving an express train. His destination? A virtual human, consisting of algorithms that predict what an administered substance will do in the body. The train is already a long way down the line and the pharmaceutical…
-
Dissociative chemisorption on transition metal surfaces
The dissociative chemisorption of a molecule on a transition metal surface represents a rate-limiting step in many heterogeneously catalyzed processes, whereby most chemicals are made. In spite of the importance of this reaction, an accurate first principles approach to modeling it does not yet exist.…
-
Prior Research
The van Exter group has an extensive history of prior research in classical and quantum optics. As former part of the group of Han Woerdman, we have studied topics as diverse as:
-
Kinetic Landscapes
The Cide Archaeological Project: Surveying the Turkish Western Black Sea Region
-
No exams or lectures, but building a radio telescope with empty paint cans
No more lectures and exams for the Radio Astronomy course taught by Michiel Brentjens. The corona crisis is a moment of reflection that has changed his whole way of teaching. Instead of being in front of the class, he lets his students build a radio telescope with paint cans.
-
Journals
The Faculty of Archaeology produces several journals
- Dutch Missionaries and Deaf Education in Africa between 1960-1990
-
Predrinks Oort lecture
Alumni event
-
Mobile peoples - permanent places
This dissertation is a study of archaeological remains left behind by nomadic communities in the Black Desert, situated in the northeast of modern Jordan.
-
Frontiers of the Roman Empire: The Eastern Frontiers
This volume considers the military architecture and its impact on local communities in Rome's eastern frontier, which stretched from the north-east shore of the Black Sea to the Red Sea.
-
Astronomy Council statement on racism
On behalf of the Dutch astronomical community, we unequivocally condemn the brutal killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor and countless others and instances of racism.
-
Awards and Grants 2020
An overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2020, as well as special appointments at Leiden University and other institutions.
-
News
A selection of news from Leiden University.
-
African Activism at the UN
Subproject of the ERC project 'Challenging the Liberal World Order from Within: The Invisible History of the United Nations and the Global South'.
-
NWO Free Competition Grant for Al-Jallad and Akkermans
Dr. Ahmad Al-Jallad and Prof.dr. Peter Akkermans have been awarded with the NWO Free Competition Grant for their research project 'Landscapes of Survival: Pastoralist Societies, Rock Art and Literacy in Jordan's Black Desert, c. 1000 BC to 500 AD'. Together, they study settlements, burials and inscr…
-
Family, Work and Household in Late Medieval Iberia
Family, Work, and Household presents the social and occupational life of a late medieval Iberian town in rich, unprecedented detail. The book combines a diachronic study of two regionally prominent families—one knightly and one mercantile—with a detailed cross-sectional urban study of household and…
-
The Rise and Decline of an Iberian Bourgeoisie
The Rise and Decline of an Iberian Bourgeoisie is one of the first long-term studies in English of an Iberian town during the late medieval crisis. Focusing on the Catalonian city of Manresa, Jeff Fynn-Paul expertly integrates Iberian historiography with European narratives to place the city's social,…
- Meet our staff
-
Modeling energy conversion dynamics at interfaces
Chemical reactions go hand-in-hand with an energy exchange with the environment in which they take place. Surfaces offer a variety of energy dissipation channels, constituted by the nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom of the atoms at the interface. Aiming at an improved future harvesting of energy,…
-
Robbert Dijkgraaf: ‘Diversity improves science’
His Leiden honorary doctorate, the future of scientists, and diversity in science. Robbert Dijkgraaf tells about it in one of the classical rooms of the Academy Building. ‘It's very special, my honorary doctorate. A rare homage.’
-
Gaia data maps globular cluster, gravitational lensing and asteroids with great precision
The European Space Agency (ESA) has published an interim data release from Gaia, the space telescope mapping out the Milky Way in 3D. The first scientific papers published today reveal half a million stars in the Omega Centauri globular cluster, nearly 400 candidate gravitational lensers and the positions…