#eROSITA's Second Data Release (DR2) has nearly doubled the known X-ray sources to 2 million! This groundbreaking dataset from the eROSITA consortium led by #MPE offers a comprehensive look at the #high-energy Universe. 🔭 Explore the data and read more: ➡️ www.mpe.mpg.de/8215311/news...

Big Breakthrough in Star Formation! Researchers from #MPE just detected the first direct evidence of #AmbipolarDiffusion in #L1544 pre-stellar core. This process, where neutral gas drifts inward while ions stuck to magnetic fields, is a key theory in how stars form. ➡️ www.mpe.mpg.de/8210585/news...

This image is packed full with millions of stars in our own Milky Way 🌟 Millions more distant galaxies lie beyond them, each full of billions or trillions of stars. We even see the faint, ghostly clouds of interstellar dust known as "galactic cirrus" spread through our galaxy. 🔭🧪

The start of a new survey of the Universe? That deserves a new view of the cosmos 🌌 Meet the Ocean of Stars, NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory's newest wide-field image. 🔭🧪 🔗: rubinobservatory.org/gallery/imag...

#MPE is very much looking forward to the start of #LSST by @vrubinobs.bsky.social. It will create powerful synergies with #eROSITA, particularly in the search for high-redshift #GalaxyClusters and faint Active Galactic Nuclei ( #AGN).

NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory@vrubinobs.bsky.social · last mo.

The moment we've all been waiting for is finally here… On June 29, 2026, NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory officially began the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST)! 🔭🧪☄️🌌 🔗: rubinobservatory.org/news/action-...

👏Huge congrats to Yi Zhang, former #MPE PhD student in the highenergy group, for winning the #IAU PhD Prize by the international astronomical union! She was awarded for her PhD-thesis about the hot #circumgalactic medium using data from the #eROSITA x-ray space telescope. ➡️https://s.mpe.mpg.de/mo9o3

Cosmic Noon galaxies weren't chaotic mergers! A new study by #MPE researchers using #NOEMA & #JWST data shows many massive disks had spiral arms & bars that actively drove gas transport inward, fueling intense star formation. This challenges old views of early galaxy evolution. ➡️ s.mpe.mpg.de/nxuom

🤗Congratulations Esra Bulbul! 🤗 @esrabulbul.bsky.social, leading scientist of the high-energy #astrophysics group at #MPE, specializing in #cosmology & large-scale structure, has been appointed as a scout for the @humboldt-foundation.de #HenrietteHerz Scouting Program! ➡️https://s.mpe.mpg.de/v24dm

🚀Cosmic Data Dump!🚀 The #HETDEX survey of the #EarlyUniverse just dropped its massive dataset! HETDEX is opening its doors to scientists, students, citizen researchers, and AI, providing access to 600 million spectra of distant galaxies and the space between them! ➡️More: s.mpe.mpg.de/ezio0

👏Congrats to Paola Caselli, appointed 2026 #OortProfessor at @unileiden.bsky.social! With this honor, she will deliver the annual #OortLecture. As Director of the Center for Astrochemical Studies at #MPE, she's a leading voice in understanding star & planet formation. ➡️Read More: s.mpe.mpg.de/w5amb

📢#MPEPaperOfTheMonth📢 Ever wonder where all the sulfur in space is hiding? A new study led by Olli Sipilä from #MPE combines lab experiments & astrochemical modeling to show: It's likely locked up in icy dust grains! ➡️ s.mpe.mpg.de/j4ip8 Disclaimer: Image generated by Olli Sipilä using AI tools.

📢#MPEPaperOfTheMonth 🤯 Missing matter FOUND! Using data from #eROSITA X-Ray space telescope, #MPE researchers detected hot gas extending beyond galaxy clusters, revealing how they possibly grow by pulling in material from the cosmic web. ➡Read more: s.mpe.mpg.de/5oidn Photo: Xiaoyuan Zhang/MPE

Gas within the Solar System's heliosphere emits a complex pattern of soft X-rays. Dennerl et al. use the eROSITA X-ray survey to disentangle this foreground emission and determine where in the heliosphere it comes from. ☄️☀️🔭 #heliophysics #highenergyastro www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#MPE 🤝 #IUCAA We're happy to announce a new #MaxPlanck Partner group to study our nearest galactic neighbors using data from the #eROSITA X-ray telescope. This partnership was mainly established by Chandreyee Maitra, former researcher at MPE and now associate professor at IUCAA. s.mpe.mpg.de/oolrk

Okay, universe. You wanna hide your secrets? We'll find them! #MPE and the #Euclid Consortium needs YOU to hunt for 10,000+ gravitational lenses in Euclid data. Join the #SpaceWarps Project! ➡️Read more: s.mpe.mpg.de/4goov #CitizenScience #Astrophysics #Astronomy

👏👏Huge congratulations to Sarah Pappert for winning the #ZONTA International Women in STEM Award! Sarah is a PhD-Student at #MPE and works on #MICADO, a pioneering instrument for the #ELT. She is also highly engaged in public outreach and empowers women in science. ➡️ s.mpe.mpg.de/65838 #WomenInSTEM

Sarah Pappert receives ZONTA International Women in STEM Award

MPE PhD student Sarah Pappert has been honored with the ZONTA International Women in STEM Award for her work on the MICADO instrument of the Extremely Large Telescope and her commitment to supporting ...

mpe.mpg.de

“Like watching the Solar System breathe in X-Rays.” ☀️🌬️ Using the #eROSITA space telescope, scientists at #MPE disentangled #SWCX from other #astrophysics emissions, allowing them to reconstruct the clean soft X-ray sky as it would appear from outside the #solarsystem. ➡️ s.mpe.mpg.de/6sai1

👏Congratulations to #MPE scientist Stefan Gillessen for receiving the Von Seeliger Award as Best Lecturer! The award is presented by master students from @lmu.de to recognize excellence in teaching. Gillessen was honoured for his lecture “#BlackHoles: Theory and Observations.” ➡️ s.mpe.mpg.de/klbcf

Stefan Gillessen Receives the Von Seeliger Award as Best Lecturer

Stefan Gillessen, scientist in the infrared group at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, is awarded the Von Seeliger Prize for his exceptional lecture on black holes in the master's...

mpe.mpg.de

📢 #MPEPaperOfTheMonth How do #BlackHoles ⚫ like Sagittarius A* in the heart of our milky way eat? A new study by a team of researchers led by #MPE links gas clouds to stellar winds from a #BinaryStar as a potential source of energy. ➡️https://s.mpe.mpg.de/j1d4h

Tracing the Origins of Mysterious Gas Clouds near the Galactic Center

New observations reveal that a binary star near the Galactic Center may create gas clouds that feed the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A.

mpe.mpg.de

A cosmic Game of Hide and Seek 🙈 👀 Hiding in a belt orbiting the #star #WISPIT, scientists have found not 1, but 2 forming #protoplanets thanks to #GRAVITY+. A prime example of how technological #innovation drives scientific breakthroughs! 👉 s.mpe.mpg.de/ssiaz #sciencenews #SpaceScience #science

📢Paper of the Month alert: Elements from a #protostar crashing into clouds in #space can create organic compounds: The Basis of complex #life 💫 🌌 💥 ⚛️ 🌱 👉 Link: www.mpe.mpg.de/8186220/pape... #sciencenews #paperofthemonth

A chemically rich outflow from a young Sun-like star: A new laboratory for shock chemistry

A chemically rich outflow from a young Sun-like star: A new laboratory for shock chemistry

mpe.mpg.de

Life without a sun? Impossible! Or not... Isolated worlds could stay warm for up to 4.3 billion years. Hydrogen can trap heat, keeping oceans liquid – the foundation of life. Life might not just circle stars, it could wander the galaxy 🌍✨ s.mpe.mpg.de/8gst1 #Astrobiology #Exomoons #SpaceScience

SN Winny is the only known strongly lensed superluminous supernova – and MPE astronomers have captured all five of its images. 💫 This rare system opens a new, one-step route to measure the universe’s expansion rate and address the Hubble tension. More: bit.ly/4tLRiHN

🌀 Supermassive black hole heartbeat + mini-flares! eRASSt J2344 shows QPEs every 12h + unprecedented short mini-flares – challenging black hole models. Thanks to Einstein Probe + XMM-Newton. 👉 Full story + cosmic ECG: bit.ly/MPE-J2344-heartbeat #BlackHoles #EinsteinProbe #Astrophysics #MPE #IMPRS

International Day of Women and Girls in Science! At @eso_supernova in Garching, "MPE’s Women in Astronomy" spotlighted Prof. Dr. Dominika Wylezalek (Heidelberg University & ARI) with her inspiring public talk “Black Holes and the Cosmic Web of Galaxies — A Journey Through Space and Time.” ✨

Astronomers win!🥳 Protest saves @eso.org #Paranal Observatory's dark skies from industrial project. #MPE director & #Nobel Laureate Reinhard Genzel leads successful fight to protect a unique site of world-class telescopes, including #VLT and the currently built #ELT. ➡️ www.mpe.mpg.de/8134359/news...

Paranal: Night Sky Secured – A Triumph for the Astronomers’ Protest

The planned industrial facility near ESO Paranal has been halted, ensuring the protection of the unique night sky for astronomical research.

mpe.mpg.de

Largest sulfur molecule ever detected in space may reveal clues to life’s origins. www.mpg.de/26040668/the... #astrophysics @mpe-garching.bsky.social

New insights into the origins of the chemistry of life

Astrophysicists discover largest sulfur-containing molecular compound in space

mpg.de

A new study by #MPE researchers, using the #eROSITA telescope, shows the fastest-feeding #Quasars have the strongest X-ray flickering. The likely cause? Powerful winds blasting away from the #blackhole, acting like a 'cosmic curtain' that block our view. ➡️https://www.mpe.mpg.de/8130783/news20260121

eROSITA Reveals Powerful Black Hole Winds Driving Unexpected X-ray Flickering in Quasars

The eROSITA telescope unveils unexpected X-ray flickering in quasars, revealing powerful black hole winds influencing brightness variations.

mpe.mpg.de

👏Congratulations to Michaela Benthaus, who just became the first ever wheelchair user to travel to space! Back in early 2023, Michaela did an internship at #MPE. And now to see her go to space make us incredibly proud. Amazing achievement, Michi, and all the best for your future! Next stop Mars??😉

Unveiling interstellar secrets! A science team including #MPE's Konrad Dennerl captured the first X-ray images of comet 3I/ATLAS using @esa.int #XMMNewton. This goes back to 1996 when the #ROSAT mission discovered that comets emit X-rays. Image: ESA/XMM-Newton/C. Lisse, S. Cabot & the XMM ISO Team