Radiation that travelled through space for longer than the Sun and Earth have existed has now been captured by the LST-1 and MAGIC telescopes in the Canary Islands. It was emitted by the active galactic nucleus OP 313, powered by a massive black hole. No one has yet observed a more distant active galactic nucleus in the ultra-high-energy range.
This year marks 65 years since Yuri Gagarin became the first person to fly into space. To celebrate the anniversary, the Institute of Physics (FZU) and the science outreach community Pátečníci put together an afternoon of talks at Dvořák Hall on 12 April.
What happens when a particle from deep space hits the Earth's atmosphere? And how do scientists actually find out? A group of secondary school students explored these questions at a full-day seminar on astroparticle physics.
Students involved in the Czech Journey to Space project accepted an invitation to an expert excursion to the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. During the excursion, they learned about current research, technologies, and international projects in which the Institute is involved, and tried their hand at the work of scientists in laboratories.
Astrophysicist and science popularizer Jiří Grygar from the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences received the Neuron Foundation Award for promoting a love of science at the Prague Planetarium.
Jan Ebr, Jakub Vícha, and Jiří Blažek from the Department of Astroparticle Physics at the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences contributed to an article published recently in Nature Reviews Physics.
Unlike in working with particle accelerators, where scientists plan their experiments in detail in advance, Patrik Čechvala has to wait and see what particles arrive from the depths of space. He is dedicated to observing particle showers caused by photons with extraordinary energies. In an interview about the MSCA COFUND Physics for Future postdoctoral program at the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, he talks about why space is the best laboratory and how cosmic rays help uncover the secrets of the pyramids – as well as how to present the topic to the public in contests such as FameLab, in whose Czech finals he represented the Institute of Physics this year.
Two Cherenkov telescopes help us understand extreme cosmic phenomena through very high-energy gamma rays; they are currently the most sensitive devices of their kind in the world. The prototypes, which were developed by an international team involving Czech scientists, are now in Ondřejov. This is an exceptional opportunity for Czech astrophysicists, as the telescopes may be moved abroad in the future.
An international team led by Jakub Vícha from the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences has proposed a revolutionary "heavy metal" scenario that may change the view on the composition of the most energetic particles arriving from space. The theory, which the physicist built together with his team based on the analysis of unique data from the Pierre Auger Observatory, will contribute to answering the question of what these particles are made of and where they originate. A crucial role might be played by iron.
Update 1. 1. 2025 A new comet was spotted on the night of 24–25 December 2024 by scientist Martin Mašek from the Institute of Physics over the western horizon in Argentina. He operated the telescope online from Liberec (city in the Czech Republic). This is the first Czech discovery of a comet where the observer was not physically present in the observatory, and the first Czech discovery from the southern hemisphere. The comet will not appear above our horizon until late February or early March.
On (not only) open questions in physics with David Hlaváček
In the "Open Questions in Physics" interview series we introduce you to different research areas and personalities of the Institute of Physics. At the Department of Astroparticle Physics, David Hlaváček is involved in the design of one of the control modules of the upcoming LISA space mission, which aims to capture gravitational waves possibly dating back to the very beginning of the universe. In addition, he is also involved in the outreach and philosophy of science. Where does he see physics going, what will LISA tell us about the cosmos and why is it important to inspire new generations of scientists?
On open questions in astroparticle physics with Jakub Vícha
Where do high-energy cosmic ray particles come from and how can we even learn what they are? Can they open up an opportunity for us to discover completely new physical processes? And can cosmic rays influence the weather? These questions have not been answered yet, but research by Jakub Vícha from the Department of Astroparticle Physics at FZU is bringing us closer to unravelling these mysteries.
