Brussels, 20 September 2022 – During the night of September 26–27, at approximately 1:15 a.m. (Belgian time), NASA’s DART probe will crash into the asteroid Dimorphos, located more than 10 million kilometres from Earth. The purpose of this impact is to test an asteroid deflection strategy. For the Royal Observatory of Belgium, which is involved in planetary defence, this mission represents an important first [...]
The Royal Observatory of Belgium, the Royal Meteorological Institute and the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy will open their doors on 24-25 September 2022 from 10:00 to 18:00. [...]
Following an absence of two years due to the COVID-19 crisis, Science & Culture at the Palace is back from July 23 to August 28, 2022. To facilitate a smooth flow of visitors during these open days, the exhibition will be in a ‘light’ version proposed by the Palace. [...]
In April 2022, the ILMT (International Liquid Mirror Telescope), located at the Devasthal Observatory in the north of India, has been used for the first time to observe the sky. This event, called the ‘first light’, marks the debut of this new telescope, designed and built by an international consortium with contributions from Belgium, Canada, India, Poland, and Uzbekistan. The [...]
On Saturday, June 25, 2022, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., 12 women scientists in Belgium will tell you about their research during the Soapbox Science Brussels event at the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein. [...]
In June 2022, the Royal Observatory of Belgium will participate in two events, in which it will present its activities related to asteroids, planetary defence, solar physics and space exploration. The first event will be held at the Natural Science Museum in Brussels on June 23. The second event will be held on June 24 and 25, at the Summer [...]
13 June 2022 – Today, the European Space Agency (ESA) announces the most detailed Milky Way survey to date. The third data release of the Gaia satellite provides a wealth of information on the stars and other celestial objects that make up our Milky Way. Belgian astronomers, including scientists from the Royal Observatory of Belgium, contributed to the Europe-wide consortium [...]
A new book on the Sun has just been published in French, and its author, Frédéric Clette, is a researcher at the Royal Observatory of Belgium. Inspired by his career and his experience in popularising science, he presents us, in this book intended for a wide readership, a global panorama of the Sun, its multiple influences on our planet and [...]
On March 26, 2022, the Solar Orbiter satellite came closer to the Sun than ever before. A particularly exciting moment. The images of this closest approach -the perihelion-, taken by the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on board will revolutionize solar physics!
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Two Belgian researchers, including Thomas Lecocq from the Royal Observatory of Belgium, are participating in an international collaboration on the eruption of the Hunga volcano (Tonga archipelago) of 15 January 2022, the largest explosion since Krakatau in 1883. This study has just been published on Thursday 12 May 2022 in the journal Science.
On 15 January 2022, the Hunga[1] volcano (Tonga [...]