Promotor: H.W. Lenstra

The American Library Association has selected the Space Scoop website as one of the Great Websites for Kids (GWS). Space Scoop, which launched a dedicated website one year ago, provides the latest space news to educate and inspire children. The website will be included in a compilation of exemplary…

The International Institute of Air and Space Law hosted a book launch event at the Leiden Law School on March 20, 2025, featuring the launch of two important publications in the field of air and space law.

Leiden archaeologists have been conducting research with students and local archaeologists in Oss (in the province of Brabant) for 50 years. An exhibition at Leiden University shows how these finds tell the region’s story.

The SpaceEU project, coordinated by Leiden University, has launched an online toolkit with a collection of space-centred activities that engage people with the wonders of space. The toolkit is targeted at girls and underrepresented communities and can be used by schools, youth centres, museums, NGOs…

The Dutch-Japanese made DESHIMA instrument has passed its first practical tests when measuring the distances and ages of distant galaxies. The core of the instrument is a chip the size of two euro coins that measures 49 shades of far infrared light. The developers of the spectrometer publish the results…

Connecting space to society and gaining problem-solving experience: that’s the goal of LDE Space & Society, a new honours programme for bachelor’s students in Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam. What does the programme look like? And what do students hope to learn? We visited a kick-off session full of exc…

The first full-colour images of the cosmos from ESA's space telescope Euclid were presented today. Never before has a telescope been able to take such crystal-clear astronomical images of such a large part of the sky and so far into the deep universe. The five images illustrate Euclid's full potential;…

A team of students from the Advanced LL.M. in Air and Space Law represented Leiden University at the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition. The European regional rounds of the competition took place at the headquarters of the European Space Agency in Paris, France from 1 to 3 April 2025 and…

The Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court competition was held in Vienna between 8 and 12 April 2024. This event was organised by the European Centre for Space Law in collaboration with the University of Vienna. The team comprised David Eagleson, Solène Flambeaux and Aleksandra Spyra, current students…

The Construction of an Imaginary Acoustic Space, a new work by ACPA PhD Candidate Gabriel Paiuk was premiered last Saturday at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg. The piece was commissioned by the österreichisches ensemble für neue musik for their second yearly concert series.

When designing public spaces, noise is often a neglected issue. Architects and urban planners know little about it; noise experts see it mainly as a problem that should be solved simply by reducing the volume. University lecturer Andrea Giolai (LIAS), researcher Kevin Toksöz Fairbairn (ACPA) and Professor…

What started as pioneering work, has evolved over decades to become a renowned institute in 2025 with an internationally acclaimed master's programme. 'Almost everyone involved in the aviation and space sector knows us in Leiden.'

On Thursday 24 May 2018, Tanja Masson-Zwaan of Leiden University’s International Institute of Air and Space Law and Prof Mahulena Hofmann of the University of Luxembourg had the honour of addressing the King and Queen of the Netherlands and the Grand-Duc and Grand-Duchess of Luxembourg during the State…

One of the ECSL’s most successful activities is the ESA/ECSL Summer Course on Space Law and Policy, which is open to students in any stage of their study and a number of young professionals already working in the space industry and space-related sectors. The course is now in its 32nd year and boasts…

Students greatly benefit from an interdisciplinary learning environment that makes connections with various stakeholders and tackles real-world challenges. This environment allows them to produce innovative and impactful results. As part of their studies, students from the International Institute of…

Een nieuw boek in de reeks Elementaire deeltjes

Schatten uit het oude Armenië

On 7 February 2025 Leiden University celebrated its 450th anniversary.

NNMT wordt beschouwd als een nieuw potentieel farmacologisch doelwit in de behandeling van een verscheidenheid van kankers, stofwisselingsziekten en andere pathologieën. Het toenemend aantal publicaties waarin de rol van NNMT bij ziekten wordt opgehelderd, heeft op zijn beurt de ontwikkeling van krachtige…

On the 19th of April, Iris van de Voorde successfully defended a doctoral thesis. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Iris on this achievement!

Marietje Beemsterboer defended her thesis on 12 June 2018 (in Dutch)

A time-lapse of the universe in more detail than ever before: that’s the aim of the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, which will unveil its first images of the night sky on 23 June. Researchers at Leiden Observatory have played a major role in making it all possible.

By carrying out fundamental research and providing excellent education, universities become a breeding ground for innovation and entrepreneurship.

To generate renewable energy takes more space than one might think. New research by environmental scientist Paul Behrens and master's student John van Zalk shows how much space is needed for nine specific types of energy. Biomass, hydro and wind, while vital, take up the most space. Natural gas and…

‘Space Antenna LISA will open an unprecedented window on the Universe,’ says astronomer Elena Maria Rossi. The mission will be the first one to detect Gravitational Waves from space. These can tell us more about the beginning of our Universe and the formation of black holes. With an NWO grant of twelve…

By adding their signature to the collaboration agreement on 31 May, Leiden University, TU Delft, space research institute SRON and NWO confirmed the move of SRON from Utrecht to South Holland. From 2021, the headquarters of the space research institute will be located on the Campus of Leiden Univ…

Together with College of Europe Professors Sieglinde Gstöhl and Simon Schunz, Joris Larik edited an interdisciplinary special issue for the Journal of European Integration on the theme 'The European Union and the Governance of Contested Global Spaces in an Era of Geopolitics'.

During the second episode of this Leiden Law podcast, hosts Juli Wentholt and Ishana Badhai will talk with Tanja Masson-Zwaan about the latest developments in Space Law.

The first photo of a black hole and measuring anxiety in the brain... From 13 until 22 May we're serving a free slice of science with your pizza.

The master's specialisation Astronomy and Instrumentation at Leiden University focuses on fully understanding the physical principles and performance of astronomical instruments and to contribute to the development of new instrumentation technologies.

Anmol Dhawan (24) graduated cum laude from the Advanced LLM in Air and Space Law in Leiden on 28 August 2023. He comes from Mumbai in India and did his bachelor law studies at National Law University Delhi. He has been in the Netherlands since September 2022, so over one year now.

An international team of astronomers led by Matus Rybak (Leiden University) has proven, thanks to accidental double zoom, that millimetre radiation is generated close to the core of a supermassive black hole. Their findings have been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Four different astronomical societies are active in the Old Observatory. We are very proud of the commitment these associations show to organize activities.

I have studied the hot, diffuse gas around and between galaxies. Specifically, I have used the EAGLE numerical simulations of galaxy formation to predict the properties of this gas, and I have used those properties to predict specific observables: soft X-ray absorption and emission lines.

The formation and evolution of galaxies is fundamentally driven by the formation of new stars out of cold gas.

The year 2023 saw the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the Wagner Group rebellion and wildfires and floods as all the weather records were smashed. Our most-read stories were about the climate crisis and the elections: here’s the list.

Planets existing in other solar systems contain invaluable information about the origin of planets and life. PhD candidate Yapeng Zhang has studied their atmospheres by looking at their smallest parts: isotopes. With her research she hopes to discover what makes our own solar system unique.

The International Institute of Air and Space Law (IIASL) at Leiden University has joined the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) as its newest Research and Academia member.

The International Institute of Air and Space Law (IIASL) at Leiden University has released a report highlighting that the European Air Traffic Management (ATM) transformation is hindered more by regulatory complexity and political fragmentation than by technological limitations.

Steven Truxal joins Leiden University as Professor of Air and Space Law on 1 December 2020. Truxal holds a BA in International Affairs with concentrations in international law and economics from The George Washington University, Washington, DC (USA), an LLM in International Commercial Law with focus…

‘We intend to use the arrival of SRON in South Holland to give a serious impetus to research and activities related to space travel and astronomy in the broadest sense of the word.' These were the words of Rector Carel Stolker of Leiden University at the ceremony where the first pile of the new SRON…

International researchers have, for the first time, pinpointed the moment when planets began to form around a star beyond the Sun. Using the ALMA telescope, in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, and the James Webb Space Telescope, they have observed the creation of the first…

The Diplo21 network organizes scientific meetings to provide young researchers working on diplomacy and written practices in medieval Europe with a forum for scientific dialogue and debate, independent of national historiographic traditions. The first theme chosen is 'the charter's spaces'. The particular…

On Monday 3 September, the ARC forum (art_research_convergence) will come together in The Grey Space in the Middle in The Hague. The forum, initiated by the Leiden University Academy for Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA) is focused on the presentation and discussion of artistic research.

An international team led by Leiden astronomers has, after years of searching and defying the boundaries of a telescope, for the first time directly captured polarised light from an exoplanet. From this light they can deduct that a disk of dust and gas orbits the exoplanet. In this disk moons are possibly…

Twee teams of astronomers, including from the universities of Amsterdam and Leiden, have discovered how hot gas giants are surrounded by large halos of thin helium gas, an indication that they are slowly losing their atmosphere. The helium, that was recently seen for the first time by the Hubble space…

In his guest lecture on 22 January André Kuipers took school pupils and students on trip through space. His mission was to interest his young listeners in science and technology.