Matter and Space

In the search for extraterrestrial life, we generally look at planets that are more or less similar to Earth. Astrophysicists Inga Kamp and Floris van der Tak explain how the international LIFE-mission will search for life in new ways, and that planets that appear similar, might actually be composed of entirely different molecules.

An international team of astronomers, including Tim Lichtenberg and PhD student Emma Postolec, has found strong evidence for an atmosphere on a rocky exoplanet. The ultra-hot “super-Earth” TOI-561 b appears to be surrounded by a thick layer of gases above a global magma ocean.

Planetary scientists Quentin Changeat and Tim Lichtenberg investigate the characteristics of exoplanets. Changeat studies the atmosphere of hot Jupiter-like planets, while Lichtenberg is excited to have found an atmosphere around a planet that, according to scientific consensus, was not supposed to have one.

Over the next five years, a new astronomical instrument will unravel our galactic history, investigate dark matter and study the origins of stars. Astronomers from the University of Groningen will also be working with this instrument.

Astronomers from the University of Groningen and the University of Amsterdam are on the Canary Island of Tenerife until 29 July to test a special camera to detect gamma rays emitted by extreme objects, such as supermassive black holes and supernovae.

Scientists from Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, will use the Simons Observatory's new telescope to search for new physics.

By understanding the cosmos, we can better fathom the fundamentals of our world. That is the idea behind the research theme Fundamentals of the Universe, in which three institutes of the University of Groningen form a unique collaboration.