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The Last Light of the Gaia Space Mission

After 11 years of uninterrupted operation in space, the European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia spacecraft has completed its sky scanning. During this time, it collected over 3 billion observations of approximately 2 billion stars and other celestial objects. The data gathered by the Gaia mission has revolutionised our understanding of the Milky Way and the surrounding universe.

New sources of cosmic X-rays

An international team of astronomers, led by researchers from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw, have identified a new class of cosmic X-ray sources.The results of the study were published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters”.

New bolide camera in Ostrowik

Bolides are a special type of meteor with very high brightness. They can mark the fall of meteorites – fragments of asteroids or small bodies orbiting in our Solar System. In Ostrowik, where the North Station of the UW's Astronomical Observatory is located, a bolide camera has been launched as part of the newly established Skytinel network.

The mystery of dark matter

Gravitational wave detectors, LIGO and Virgo, have detected a population of massive black holes whose origin is one of the biggest mysteries in modern astronomy. A team of scientists from the OGLE project of the UW’s Astronomical Observatory presented the results of nearly 20-year-long observations. The results were published in “Nature” and “Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series”.

The ultra-long-period Cepheid

The researchers from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw discovered the classical Cepheid with the longest pulsation period known in our Galaxy. This variable star is called OGLE-GD-CEP-1884, and is likely the most luminous, youngest, and most massive Cepheid known in the Milky Way.

Record-mass black hole discovered by the Gaia mission

While analysing a vast amount of data collected by the European Space Agency’s star surveyor Gaia, a research team including UW scientists has discovered a “sleeping” black hole. Its mass is estimated to be nearly thirty-three times the mass of the Sun, making it the greatest known example of this black hole in our galaxy. The discovery can influence the understanding of how massive stars evolve.

New source of cosmic dust

An international team of scientists, including Dr Mariusz Gromadzki from the UW’s Astronomical Observatory, has identified a previously unknown source of cosmic dust. The observed phenomenon is a result of the interaction of the matter ejected during a type Ia supernova explosion with the surrounding circumstellar gas. The discovery is described in “Nature Astronomy”.

Tasmanian devil with unprecedented flares

After a distant star’s explosive death, an active stellar corpse was the likely source of repeated energetic flares observed by an international team of researchers including Dr Mariusz Gromadzki from the UW’s Astronomical Observatory. The astronomers presented their findings in “Nature”.

The highest energy gamma rays ever from a pulsar

Astrophysicists at the H.E.S.S. Observatory in Namibia, in which researchers from the University of Warsaw are involved, have discovered the highest energy gamma rays ever from the Vela pulsar. The project at the UW is coordinated by Prof. Tomasz Bulik from the UW Astronomical Observatory. The results of the research have been published in “Nature Astronomy”.

Two-Faced Star Exposed

An international team of astronomers has announced the discovery of an unusual white dwarf star that is made of hydrogen on one side and helium on the other. They reported their findings in the latest issue of "Nature". Dr Przemysław Mróz from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw is a co-author of the study.

“Nature” publication on a binary star system

An international team led by astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics has announced in the "Nature" journal the discovery of a unique binary star system in which matter flows onto the white dwarf from its companion. One of the paper's authors presenting the results is Prof. Andrzej Udalski from the UW Astronomical Observatory.

The first “dormant” black hole outside our Galaxy

An international group of astronomers with the participation of scientists from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw discovered a “dormant” stellar-mass black hole in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighbor galaxy to our own. It is the first object of this type found outside the Milky Way.

An isolated black hole roaming our Milky Way galaxy

The Milky Way galaxy is expected to host over 100 million isolated black holes. Two independent teams of scientists, including astronomers from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw, have for the first time discovered what may be a free-floating black hole.

Astronomers Analyse Impact of Starlink Satellites

The U.S. company SpaceX plans to build a constellation of 42,000 low-Earth-orbit communication satellites called Starlink. A new study, led by Dr Przemysław Mróz from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw, looks at the impact of satellites on ground-based astronomical research.

90 new spacetime quakes detected by Virgo and LIGO

35 new events detected by LIGO and Virgo in their latest observation period bring to 90 the gravitational waves detected so far. In the observations took part researchers from the University of Warsaw Astronomical Observatory.

Four new free-floating planets

A free-floating planet is an object gravitationally unbound to any star. An international team of astronomers announced the discovery of four new free-floating planets. Its research was published by “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society”.

Einstein Telescope included in ESFRI Roadmap 2021

The Einstein Telescope is the first and most advanced third-generation gravitational-wave observatory, with unprecedented sensitivity that will put Europe at the forefront of gravitation waves research. The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) included it in its Roadmap 2021. In Poland, the ET consortium is led by the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw.

Detection of gravitational waves from star-eating black holes

Scientists from the UW Astronomical Observatory have contributed to the discovery of binary systems consisting of a black hole and a neutron star (NSBH). The existence of these systems was predicted by astronomers several decades ago, but they had never been observed, either through electromagnetic or gravitational signals, until now.

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