How are night spaces imagined, produced, experienced and narrated by migrant communities in Europe? This research project considers this question in eight European cities: Aarhus, Amsterdam, Berlin, Cork, Galway, Lisbon, London, Rotterdam. Authorities have historically wrestled with the issue of night-time…

The International Institute of Air and Space Law is one of the leading international academic research and teaching institutes in the world, specialising in legal and policy issues regarding aviation and space activities in the broadest sense of the word.

In 2015, Jorryt Matthee thought he discovered an extremely distant galaxy called CR7, which lacked elements heavier than helium. Three years later, he shows with measurements using the ALMA telescope that the galaxy does have carbon after all, and even in normal concentrations. The American Astronomical…

How does astronomy benefit you? The new single-episode podcast Cosmic Perspectives explores the impact of Dutch astronomy on society: from building positive international relationships to the transfer of life-changing technology.

Are you thinking about studying Air and Space Law ? Learn more and watch the videos.

The design for the METIS instrument for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is final. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has given the green light for production of all parts of the instrument. It is the first ELT instrument, designed and to be built under Dutch leadership, to formally pass the…

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the most abundant class of organic compounds in space. The PAH field evolves from the constant interaction between experimentalists, theorists, modellers and observers. While laboratory research and quantum chemical calculations together set up the molecular…

Within the Vision on Teaching and Learning, one of the 8 ambitions is Activating Teaching and Learning. With the support of the Vice-Deans and Vice-Rector, Hester Bijl, the Saltswat project is working on accelerating this ambition. What is the purpose of this site? Being effective…

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel, Co-promotor: O.W. van Gaans

Leiden University is developing new short stay living space for foreign guests and employees. De Kloksteeg is currently the last of four projects that has been renovated by the Leiden University Real Estate directorate since 2017. The Service Centre International Staff (SCIS) is responsible for rental…

After a period of maintenance, the 'Photographer' telescope is available once again for visits at the Old Observatory.

After a period of maintenance, the 'Photographer' telescope is available once again for visits at the Old Observatory.

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,…

Andrew Webb, Professor of MRI Physics at LUMC and teacher at the Physics education at Leiden University, has been awarded the 2017 NWO Simon Stevin Master Prize. The prize includes a cash award of 500,000 euros. Webb is planning to use the prize to develop new MRI techniques that allow diseases to be…

Leiden professor of molecular astrophysics and astrochemistry Ewine van Dishoeck was presented with the Niels Bohr International Gold Medal on Friday 7 October. The medal, instigated by the Danish Society of Engineers IDA, was awarded by Queen Margrethe of Denmark at a ceremony at the Carlsberg Academy…

The sequence-dependence of biomolecular interactions involving nucleic acids and proteins is essential for numerous processes inside the cell. Insights into the underlying molecular mechanisms have been obtained using various biochemical and biophysical methods on two different levels — bulk and sin…

Professor of Radiology Andrew Webb and his collaborative partner Johnes Obungoloch from Uganda have won the 2023 Huibregtsen Prize.

Astronomical observations of cold regions in the universe show a rich inventory of ices. Part of these ices may end up on planets like our own, but in that journey they will be exposed to considerable amounts of radiation.

Space telescope Euclid is capable of unravelling the secrets of the universe. That is what the images published by ESA today show, according to astronomers working with the telescope's data. The images exceed all expectations. Scientists within the Euclid consortium, including astronomers Henk Hoekstra…

Which laws govern the commercial use of outer space? Are States responsible for mitigating space debris? Who is liable for accidents that happen onboard an the aircraft? In our Advanced Master Air and Space Law you will learn how to deal with questions like these from both an international and a European…

Which laws govern the commercial use of outer space? Are States responsible for mitigating space debris? Who is liable for accidents that happen onboard an the aircraft? In our Advanced Master Air and Space Law you will learn how to deal with questions like these from both an international and a European…

On 27 May, Dimitra Stefoudi defended the thesis 'Legal and policy aspects of space big data: legal implications of the use of large amounts of space data – regulatory solutions and policy recommendations'. The doctoral research was supervised by Steven Truxal and Bart Custers.

This thesis examines silicon pore optics (SPO), a technology that exploits silicon wafers from the semiconductor industry to create extremely high quality X-ray optics, by studying its manufacturing process, applications, and prospects.

An international team of astronomers, including Leiden PhD student Elia Pizzati, has observed several ancient quasars that, surprisingly, appear to be floating alone in the early universe (less than a billion years after the Big Bang). Until now, astronomers, based on models, assumed that quasars are…

Promotor: Prof.dr. T.H.W. Bäck

In this thesis we study the moduli space of genus g curves, and the differential forms that occur naturally on this moduli space.

The development of space resource activities is happening now. In the absence of a clear framework to govern these activities, there is a need to examine the concepts that are being discussed in order to ensure that they meet existing treaty obligations regarding on-orbit operations and space resource…

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel, Co-promotores: M.F.E. de Jeu, B. de Pagter

The International Institute of Air and Space Law (IIASL) offers PhD candidates the possibility to enroll in the IIASL PhD Track. It is designed for 'external' PhD candidates (buitenpromovendi), who seek to pursue a PhD in Air Law or Space Law while honouring their professional commitments in paralle…

Four researchers from Leiden University have been awarded prestigious Vici grants the Dutch Research Council (NWO) has announced. The honoured applications are from researchers at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden Observatory, the LUMC and the Faculty of Archaeology.

This volume investigates how urban growth and prosperity transformed the cities of the Roman Mediterranean in the last centuries BCE and the first centuries CE, integrating debates about Roman urban space with discourse on Roman urban history.

The Old Observatory in Leiden has reclaimed its most important telescope. Since the 1960s, the Meridian Circle (also known as a transit telescope) had been housed in the Boerhaave Museum. After more than sixty years, the telescope is finally back in its original location. Now, the public can enjoy it…

The Netherlands Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Security and Justice have requested the Centre for Terrorism and Counterterrorism to complete a research project on cyber governance from a policy perspective. The results of this project will contribute to the deliverables of the fourth International…

The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics fails to explain several observed phenomena and is incomplete. In order to resolve this problem, one may extend the SM by adding new particles.

On Monday 9 May Mercury will pass between the Earth and the Sun. This rare event can be followed in the Leiden Observatory. The Observatory's new solar telescope produces a very clear image and offers a unique opportunity to observe Mercury at the highest magnification possible in the Netherlands.

The subject of this thesis, ‘Approach to Markov Operators on Spaces of Measures by Means of Equicontinuity’, combines an analytical and probabilistic approach to Markov operators.

A new VICI Project led by Dr. Petra Sijpesteijn. More information on the PhD and postdoc postiions will be published soon

A new VICI Project led by Dr. Petra Sijpesteijn. The Call for 2 PhDs and a Post-Doc is out now.

How can you see something that’s invisible? Well, with Euclid! This future ESA telescope will map the structure of the Universe and teach us more about invisible dark matter and dark energy. Scientific coordinator of Euclid and Leiden astronomer Henk Hoekstra explains how this works.

Astronomers at Leiden University have discovered the first planets using a new instrument: the planet hunter MASCARA. This instrument, developed at Leiden Observatory, looks specifically for planet transitions around the brightest stars in the sky, which surprisingly enough have so far have hardly been…

Robin de Jong

Port cities develop at the intersection of international trade and commerce and at the interface between sea and land. What does the future of port cities look like with urbanization, sea level rise, new migrant flows and the disappearance of old industries? This is addressed in the minor (Re)Imagining…

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…

Astronomers led by Leiden astronomer Sebastiaan Haffert have directly imaged two planets that are gravitationally carving out a wide gap within a planet-forming disk surrounding a young star. While over a dozen exoplanets have been directly imaged, this is only the second multi-planet system to be p…

The strangest things come out at night. This is the motto of the Leiden Museum Night due to take place on 28 May. Leiden University is once again playing a key part.

On Monday 27 September 2010 Spinoza prize winners Naomi Ellemers, Ineke Sluiter, Marijn Franx (Leiden) and Piet Gros (Utrecht) announced their plans for their €2.5 million prize money. This was during the official ceremony in The Hague, at which the outgoing Secretary of State for Education, Culture…

For the first time in over half a century, one of oldest telescopes at the Leiden Observatory is getting a major improvement.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of researchers, including Leiden Professor of Molecular Astrophysics Ewine van Dishoeck, has discovered a palette of hydrocarbons in a planet-forming disc around a young, low-mass star. The results confirm that discs around very lightweight…