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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.

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.

Awakening of supermassive black holes

Dr. Mariusz Gromadzki from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw has contributed to the publication “X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions from two previously quiescent galaxies” published in the journal “Nature”.

An Earth-sized rogue planet discovered in the Milky Way

Our Galaxy may be teeming with rogue planets, gravitationally unbound to any star. An international team of scientists, led by Polish astronomers from the University of Warsaw, has announced the discovery of the smallest Earth-sized free-floating planet found to date.

Virgo and LIGO unveil new and unexpected black hole populations

UW scientists from the Astronomical Observatory are part of Virgo and LIGO that detected an extraordinarily massive merging binary system: two black holes of 66 and 85 solar masses, which generated a final black hole of around 142 solar masses. Two scientific papers on the discovery have been published today on Physical Review Letters and Astrophysical Journal Letters respectively.

Dr. Przemysław Mróz awarded the International Astronomical Union 2019 PhD Prize

Dr. Przemysław Mróz has been awarded the International Astronomical Union PhD prize for outstanding scientific achievements of astronomy PhD students around the world for his dissertation "Astrophysical applications of gravitational microlensing in the Milky Way". The thesis was written under the supervision of Professor Andrzej Udalski from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw

The Second Exoplanet in the Proxima Centauri Planetary System

New observations of Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Solar System, located at a distance of 4.2 light years, have made it possible to reveal the presence of a candidate low-mass planet orbiting the star at a distance 1.5 times greater than that separating the Earth from the Sun.

Global Gaia campaign reveals secrets of stellar pair

A 500-day global observation campaign spearheaded more than three years ago by ESA’s galaxy-mapping powerhouse Gaia has provided unprecedented insights into the binary system of stars that caused an unusual brightening of an even more distant star.

World media on a unique map of the Milky Way

UW astronomers constructed the most detailed 3-D map yet of the Milky Way. On 1st August, their study was published in the journal Science. Research, conducted by the UW scientists, aroused world media interest.

Two new rogue planets

Theories of planet formation predict the existence of free-floating planets that were ejected from their parent planetary systems and are floating alone through space. Astronomers from the Warsaw University Observatory have found two new rogue worlds. The discovery has been published in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics”.

Astronomers discover a new class of X-ray sources

Sun and other stars in the Milky Way emit radiation that can be detected by human eyes. Astronomers, however, know many celestial objects that can radiate their energy in the form of X-rays. An international team of scientists, which includes astronomers from the Astronomical Observatory of UW, reported in the “Nature Astronomy” journal the discovery of a new class of X-ray sources.

Prof. A. Udalski with the Karl Schwarzschild Medal 2018

The German Astronomical Society (AG) awarded Professor Andrzej Udalski from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw the Karl Schwarzschild Medal 2018.

Using neutrinos and gammas to chase the origin of cosmic rays

The scientists have observed the source for a high-energy cosmic neutrino coming from outside our galaxy. The article in “Science” magazine describes the observational campaign and its results.

Tycho Brahe Prize 2018 for Prof. Andrzej Udalski

Prof. Andrzej Udalski from the University of Warsaw has received the Tycho Brahe Prize 2018 “in recognition of the role as driving force behind OGLE (Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment)”.

Light from two colliding neutron stars

LIGO and Virgo make first detection of gravitational waves produced by colliding neutron stars. Scientists from the UW contributed to this discovery.

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