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Welcome!

The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) is dedicated to astrophysical questions ranging from the exploration of our Sun to the evolution of the cosmos. It focuses on the study of stellar, solar and exoplanetary physics, extragalactic astrophysics and the development of research technologies in the fields of spectroscopy, robotic telescopes and E-science.

xmm20_artist_cut
XXTri_image
Katja Poppenhäger
Man in white coat looks through telescope

Unveiling the Uncharted Milky Way: Completing the Galactic Stellar Map

By peering into the cosmic dance of stars, a team led by researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) has unravelled the complex structure of our Milky Way galaxy. Assuming that each observed star represents a larger population of stars sharing the same orbit, they have reconstructed the properties of these “hidden” stars, filling in gaps in the Galactic disc that holds the secrets of our Galaxy's past, present, and future.

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XMM-Newton anniversary: 25 years X-rays from space

On 10 December 1999, the European Space Agency's X-ray satellite XMM-Newton began its journey to investigate X-ray sources in the universe. The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) has been involved for three decades with software development and data analysis. To mark the anniversary, the AIP is publishing a video with contributions from AIP researchers on science using the satellite's X-ray data.

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A star’s surface revealed: 16-year study shows chaotic dynamo

The STELLA observatory in Tenerife studied a star’s surface for 16 years. Unlike the cyclic spots on our sun, this star exhibited chaotic, non-periodic star spot behavior, revealing a fundamentally different dynamo mechanism. The groundbreaking study has now been published in Nature Communications.

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ERC Consolidator Grant for Exoplanet Research

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded a grant of 2 million euros to the “Evaporator” project led by Professor Katja Poppenhäger.

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Call for nominations and applications for the Johann Wempe Award 2025

In honour of Prof. Dr. Johann Wempe (1906 – 1980), the last director of the former Astrophysical Observatory of Potsdam (AOP), the AIP grants the Johann Wempe Award to outstanding scientists. Applications and nominations are accepted until 31st January 2025.

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Latest News
thin blue line horizontally in the centre of the picture, golden thickening in the middle; various curved lines with a small dot at the end

Unveiling the Uncharted Milky Way: Completing the Galactic Stellar Map
Dec. 19, 2024

By peering into the cosmic dance of stars, a team led by researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) has unravelled the complex structure of our Milky Way galaxy. Assuming that each observed star represents a larger population of stars sharing the same orbit, they have reconstructed the properties of these “hidden” stars, filling in gaps in the Galactic disc that holds the secrets of our Galaxy's past, present, and future.

[more]
xmm20_artist_cut

XMM-Newton anniversary: 25 years X-rays from space
Dec. 10, 2024

On 10 December 1999, the European Space Agency's X-ray satellite XMM-Newton began its journey to investigate X-ray sources in the universe. The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) has been involved for three decades with software development and data analysis.

[more]
XXTri_image

A star’s surface revealed: 16-year study shows chaotic dynamo
Dec. 4, 2024

The STELLA observatory in Tenerife studied a star’s surface for 16 years. Unlike the cyclic spots on our sun, this star exhibited chaotic, non-periodic star spot behavior, revealing a fundamentally different dynamo mechanism. The groundbreaking study has now been published in Nature Communications.

[more]
 

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Latest Publications

IFUM Integrated Field Spectroscopy of Ten M104 Satellite Galaxy Candidates

Crosby, E., ... Pawlowski, M. S.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society – Published December 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2680, NASA ADS

Exploring the Diversity of Faint Satellites in the M81 Group

Gozman, K., ... de Jong, R. S., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 977, 2, 179 – Published December 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad8c3a, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume

Erratum: "The Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey. I. New, Diverse Local Lyman Continuum Emitters" (2022, ApJS, 260, 1)

Flury, S. R., ... Micheva, G., ...
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 275, 2, 47 – Published December 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-4365/ad7bb9, NASA ADS

The Second Case of a Major Merger Triggering a Starburst in a Green Pea Galaxy

Purkayastha, S., ... Pharo, J., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 977, 1, 68 – Published December 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad8dd2, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Galaxies and Quasars

Revisiting the CMB large-scale anomalies: The impact of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich signal from the Local Universe

Jung, G., ... Sorce, J. G., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 692, A180 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451238, NASA ADS

Detection of faculae in the transit and transmission spectrum of WASP-69b

Petit dit de la Roche, D. J. M., ... Pietrow, A. G. M., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 692, A83 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451740, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Solar Physics

Equilibrium dynamical models in the inner region of the Large Magellanic Cloud based on Gaia DR3 kinematics

Kacharov, N., ... Cioni, M.-R. L., ... Khoperskov, S.
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 692, A40 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451578, NASA ADS

The disc origin of the Milky Way bulge: The high velocity dispersion of metal-rich stars at low latitudes

Boin, T., ... Khoperskov, S., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 692, A13 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451486, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume

oMEGACat. IV. Constraining the Ages of Omega Centauri Subgiant Branch Stars with HST and MUSE

Clontz, C., ... Kacharov, N., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 977, 1, 14 – Published December 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad8621, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume

Detecting and sizing the Earth with PLATO: A feasibility study based on solar data

Krenn, A. F., ... Hofmeister, S. J., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 692, A17 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202450681, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Solar Physics

DIAmante TESS AutoRegressive Planet Search (DTARPS). III. Understanding the DTARPS-S Candidate Transiting Planet Catalogs

Melton, E. J., ... Rosenswie, A. W., ...
The Astronomical Journal, 168, 6, 271 – Published December 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ad8355, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Stellar Activity

WEAVE First Light Observations: Origin and Dynamics of the Shock Front in Stephan's Quintet

Arnaudova, M. I., ... Couto, G. S., ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 535, 3, 2269 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2235, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Galaxies and Quasars

PEPSI's non-detection of escaping hydrogen and metal lines adds to the enigma of WASP-12 b

Pai Asnodkar, A., ... Ilyin, I., Strassmeier, K. G., ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 535, 2, 1829 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2441, NASA ADS

Stellar surface information from the Ca II H&K lines - II. Defining better activity proxies

Cretignier, M., ... Pietrow, A. G. M., ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 535, 3, 2562 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2508, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Solar Physics

High-resolution spectroscopy of the variable hot post-AGB star LS 4331 (IRAS 17381‑1616)

Ikonnikova, N. P., Parthasarathy, M., Shaposhnikov, I. A., Hubrig, S., Sarkar, G.
Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy, 45, 2, 27 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1007/s12036-024-10012-0, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Stellar Physics and Exoplanets

Simulating Radio Synchrotron Morphology, Spectra, and Polarization of Cosmic Ray Driven Galactic Winds

Chiu, H.-H. S., Ruszkowski, M., Thomas, T., Werhahn, M., Pfrommer, C.
The Astrophysical Journal, 976, 1, 136 – Published November 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad84e9, NASA ADS

Widespread Rapid Quenching at Cosmic Noon Revealed by JWST Deep Spectroscopy

Park, M., ... Weinberger, R.
The Astrophysical Journal, 976, 1, 72 – Published November 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad7e15, NASA ADS

The Extremely Metal-rich Knot of Stars at the Heart of the Galaxy

Rix, H.-W., ... Khoperskov, S., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 975, 2, 293 – Published November 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad7aee, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume

First Detection of Molecular Gas in the Giant Low Surface Brightness Galaxy Malin 1

Galaz, G., ... Weilbacher, P. M., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 975, 2, L26 – Published November 2024
doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad8656, NASA ADS

Outflow from the very massive Wolf-Rayet binary Melnick 34

Castro, N., Weilbacher, P. M., Roth, M. M., ... Micheva, G.
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A346 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202450208, NASA ADS

Abundances of iron-peak elements in 58 bulge spheroid stars from APOGEE

Barbuy, B., ... Chiappini, C., ... Valentini, M., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A296 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202452235, NASA ADS

The chemical evolution of the Milky Way thin disk using solar twins

Plotnikova, A., Spina, L., Ratcliffe, B., Casali, G., Carraro, G.
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A298 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451167, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume

Comparing the interstellar and circumgalactic origin of gas in the tails of jellyfish galaxies

Sparre, M., Pfrommer, C., Puchwein, E.
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A259 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202450544, NASA ADS

The MUSE eXtremely Deep Field: Detections of circumgalactic Si II* emission at z ≳ 2

Kusakabe, H., ... Wisotzki, L., ... Pessa, I., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A255 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451009, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Galaxies and Quasars

The observational evidence that all microflares that accelerate electrons to high energies are rooted in sunspots

Battaglia, A. F., ... Warmuth, A., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A172 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451152, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Solar Physics

Magnetic field of the roAp star KIC 10685175: Observations versus theory

Shi, F., ... Hubrig, S., Järvinen, S., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A272 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451417, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Stellar Physics and Exoplanets

SDSS J102915.14+172927.9: Revisiting the chemical pattern

Caffau, E., ... Steffen, M., ... Gallagher, A. J., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A245 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202452079, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Stellar Physics and Exoplanets

Solar active region evolution and imminent flaring activity through color-coded visualization of photospheric vector magnetograms

Kontogiannis, I., Pietrow, A. G. M., ... Verma, M., Denker, C.
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A119 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451393, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Solar Physics

An X-ray flaring event and a variable soft X-ray excess in the Seyfert LCRS B040659.9–385922 as detected with eROSITA

Krishnan, S., ... Krumpe, M., Homan, D., Brogan, R., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A102 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202349126, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: X-ray Astronomy

Transferring spectroscopic stellar labels to 217 million Gaia DR3 XP stars with SHBoost

Khalatyan, A., ... Chiappini, C., ... Nepal, S., ... Guiglion, G., Valentini, M., ... Steinmetz, M., ... Enke, H., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A98 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451427, NASA ADS

[List of AIP publications] [AIP publications in ADS]

 

Events and dates at AIP

Conference MHD Days
02.12.2024, 9:00 – 04.12.2024, 17:00
Scientific

The German MHD Days were initiated in Potsdam in 1997 as a forum for theoretical research problems in magnetohydrodynamics, predominantly in astrophysics and geophysics. Since many of the problems are of fundamental nature, links to liquid metal phenomena, turbulence, convection and rotation of fluids have been in the scope of the meeting since.

[more]

Virtual Babelsberg Starry Night
03.12.2024, 20:00 – 21:00
Public Event

Talk (in German): Rotationskurven, Dunkle Materie und MOND (Marcel Pawlowski)

[more]

Jamboree 2024 (Winter)
05.12.2024, 10:30 – 12:00
Scientific
[more]

Virtual Babelsberg Starry Night
10.12.2024, 20:00 – 21:00
Public Event

Talk: XMM-Newton Jubilee: Science at AIP with the X-ray telescope (Iris Traulsen, Axel Schwope et al.)

[more]

Virtual Babelsberg Starry Night
10.12.2024, 20:00 – 21:00
Public Event

Talk: XMM-Newton Anniversary: Science at AIP with the X-ray telescope (Iris Traulsen, Axel Schwope et al.)

[more]

External Colloquium | Prof. Julio Navarro (U. of Victoria)
12.12.2024, 14:30 – 15:30
Scientific
[more]

Observation evening at the Great Refractor
12.12.2024, 19:00 – 20:00
Public Event

The AIP invites to a public observation evening in the Great Refractor at the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam.

[more]

Virtual Babelsberg Starry Night
12.12.2024, 20:00 – 21:00
Public Event

Talk (in German): XMM-Newton-Jubiläum: Wissenschaft am AIP mit dem Röntgenteleskop (Iris Traulsen, Axel Schwope et al.)

[more]

Observation evening at the Great Refractor
09.01.2025, 19:00 – 20:00
Public Event

The AIP invites to a public observation evening in the Great Refractor at the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam.

[more]

Hauskolloquium - Moorits Muru
16.01.2025, 14:30 – 15:30
Scientific
[more]

External Colloquium | Gherardo Valori (MPS Göttingen)
23.01.2025, 14:00 – 16:00
Scientific

The Solar Orbiter Mission and the SO/PHI instrument: new opportunities for novel science

[more]
Public Event
Scientific
Internal Event
Holidays

Conferences
Magneto-Convection.jpg

19th MHD Days 2024
Dec. 2, 2024 – Dec. 4, 2024
[Website]
Bows and bubbles that are caused by stellar feedback and galactic winds

The role of feedback in galaxy formation: from small-scale winds to galactic outflows
18th Potsdam Thinkshop
July 14, 2025 – July 18, 2025
[Website]