May 11: 75 years of the hydrogen line in the Netherlands — from Kootwijk to Westerbork and SKA
On 11 May 1951, the predecessor of ASTRON (the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy) observed the 21-centimeter radiation of neutral hydrogen for the first time in the Netherlands. Since then, this radio emission has become one of the most important tools in modern astronomy.
Innovative radio receiver sees its first light on the Westerbork telescope
In the continuing quest to observe the sky as never before possible, ASTRON develops novel technologies for radio telescopes that allow astronomers to see farther, faster, and at more frequencies. These same innovations are leveraged for satellite tracking and other remote sensing applications. With the development of the Ambient L-band Feed (ALF), ASTRON is charting a new course where such measurements can be done using less power and requiring less maintenance of the equipment. Recently, first light measurements using the ALF prototype receiver demonstrated the power of this novel technology by revealing a pulsar across a broader range of radio wavelengths than Westerbork has ever measured before.
Geoffrey Bower appointed as new director of ASTRON
The Board of NWO-I has appointed Prof. Dr. Geoffrey C. Bower as the new director of ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy. Effective 1st of September 2026, Prof. Dr. Bower will succeed Prof. Dr. Jessica Dempsey. With this appointment, ASTRON welcomes a strategic leader with a wide range of scientific and technical work in the field of Physics and Astronomy.
Insight into the inner workings of lightning
A bright flash, a loud bang, and a deep rumble: lightning is a fascinating meteorological phenomenon, and perhaps a little scary. Though it has been around forever, research on the inner workings of lightning has been limited thus far. However, Brian Hare and his colleagues from the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute (part of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Groningen) are shaking up the lightning research landscape. How? By using ASTRON’s large radio telescope LOFAR.
LOFAR2.0: upgrade of the first international station SE607.
© Lofar
A first team from ASTRON: Steyn Hulshof and Xander Blaak, visited on April 28 to install the LOFAR2.0 station switches (data, network and control). The upgrade to the network connection from Onsala to Groningen to 10Gbs, was prepared in the months before.
On May 18, a second team from ASTRON: Henri Meulman, Sjouke Kuidersma, Ronald Schrik, and Scott Polotto, travelled to complete the station integration.
We were welcomed on the morning of Tuesday 19 by the Onsala colleagues. After and introductory meeting to get to know each other and discuss the plans for the week, and a well deserved coffee, we could start with the hard work. The LOFAR2.0 subracks and power supplies were installed and the installation of the coaxial cables began.
On Wednesday 20, the coaxial cables were finalized and floor panels were placed back into their position.
On Thursday 21, the station integration tests were completed and the installation finalized.
Constant support from the teams in Dwingeloo ensured the swift solution of any issues. Team Ruby, ICT, Observers, and Verification team worked well into the evenings to make sure the station was left in good condition by the end of the week.
Thanks to the good preparations done by the OSO team, the coordination between ASTRON and Onsala, the support from Dwingeloo, and the enthusiasm and commitment from the rollout team, the upgrade happened with no major problems.
Special thanks for the hospitality provided by Roger Hammargren, Henrik Olofsson and colleagues.
Overall, the upgrade of the first station was a good experience that gives further confidence to proceed. The Next station will be PL612.
8th LOFAR Data School
Wed 16 Sep 2026 - Wed 23 Sep 2026
We are pleased to announce that the 8th LOFAR Data School (LDS2026) will be held from Wednesday, September 16th to Wednesday, September 23rd 2026 at ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, in Dwingeloo, the Netherlands. The registration is now open at: https://acme-lds2026.sciencesconf.org/ and it will close on April 20th, 2026. Rationale The goal of the school is […]