December 5, 11:34 CET: Successful Proba-3 launch
“Signal received.” After a smooth launch that was postponed by one day, operators and scientists waited to receive a first sign of life from the Proba-3 satellites. [...]
05
Dec 24
News
29
Nov 24
Launch of Proba-3 on December 4
ASPIICS onboard Proba-3 – Belgian research in the shadow of a satellite
Proba-3 is the latest ESA mission to be launched on December 4, 2024. Proba-3 consists of not one, but two satellites that will fly in precise formation around the Earth. One satellite will cast a shadow onto the other during 6 hours of the orbit, allowing the latter to [...]
19
Nov 24
PECASUS celebrates its fifth anniversary!
November 2019: the Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence (STCE) launches an unprecedented service that alerts pilots and air traffic controllers when navigation and communication systems may experience problems, or when the health of passengers and crew is at risk due to space weather. This was the very first time such messages have been sent out.
PECASUS is a global civil aviation service [...]
23
Oct 24
Ambient seismic noise campaign to measure site effects of Lixouri and the Paliki peninsula, Kefalonia, Greece
The Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the National Museum of Natural Sciences of Spain (MNCN-CSIC) joined forces in a field campaign to measure earthquakes and ambient seismic noise in the Paliki peninsula of the Ionian Island of Kefalonia in Greece to better understand the subsurface of this area. [...]
11
Oct 24
OMMEGANG: searching for dark matter with satellites and gravimeters
Brussels, 11 October 2024 – This is not a Brussels folk festival, but a scientific research project. OMMEGANG, an acronym for ‘Observing dark Matter and MEteoroids with Gravimeters ANd GNSS’, is aimed at detecting mini black holes passing close to the Earth using data from GNSS positioning satellites (including the GPS and GALILEO systems) and superconducting gravimeters. These mini black [...]
10
Oct 24
Strong solar eruption directed to Earth – chances for Aurora in Belgium
By the STCE, the Belgian space weather institute
On October 9, 03:56 Belgian time, the Sun released an extreme solar flare of category X. This is an intense light flash. We define 5 categories: A,B,C,M and X. An X-flare is 10000 (!) times stronger than an A-flare. A solar flare has an immediate impact on radio communication on the day side [...]
30
Sep 24
Hera Launch: Learning to Deflect an Asteroid
Brussels, 30 September 2024 – To protect Earth from asteroids, the Royal Observatory of Belgium participates in the European Space Agency’s Hera mission, which is set to launch on Monday, 7 October 2024 at 16:52 Belgian time (first day of the launch window). [...]
12
Sep 24
A climate-change-triggered landslide caused Earth to vibrate for 9 days
Belgian researchers are involved in a study lead by an international multidisciplinary team
In September 2023, a mysterious, globally observed and unprecedented 9-day-long seismic signal was caused by a massive landslide in Greenland. 25 million m³ of rock and ice fell into the Dickson Fjord and, in turn, caused a 200-metre-high mega-tsunami that continued sloshing back and forth – a phenomenon [...]
11
Sep 24
WiseNight 2024 Festival at the Planetarium
The Planetarium of the Royal Observatory of Belgium participates in the free WiseNight Science Festival on 27 September 2024. WiseNight is a fun and inclusive event that aims to bring science and scientists in contact with the public interactively. [...]
03
Sep 24
The liberation of Brussels marked by the Sun’s observers
80 years ago, the Allies liberated Brussels, and this event was marked by the solar observers of the Royal Observatory of Belgium. [...]