News

Euclid makes dark matter visible

Led by Inns­bruck astro­physi­cist Tim Schrab­back, researchers have presented the first mapping of dark matter distri­bu­tion in a massive galaxy clus­ter, obtained with the Euclid space tele­scope. The study provides a preview of the first major cosmo­log­ical results from the Euclid mission, expected in 2027.

ESA adopts galactic archae­ology mission Arrakihs

The Euro­pean Space Agency’s (ESA) Science Programme Committee has adopted the Ar­rak­ih­s mis­sion. Planned for launch by the end of 2030, Arrakihs will capture the faint light from nearby galaxy haloes. By seeing the unseen, Arrakihs will dig up cosmic history and reveal how galaxies like our own form and evolve.  

Sunshade helps in the search for a second Earth

An inter­na­tional research team including Stefan Kimeswenger, astro­physi­cist at the Univer­sity of Inns­bruck, has tested a new approach to studying Earth-like exo­plan­ets. The idea is to combine a large, earth-based tele­scope with a "­sun­shade" orbiting in space.

New FWF Spe­cial Research Area on the Dark Uni­verse

The University of Innsbruck is coordinating a new FWF special research area on the dark universe, which seeks answers to the biggest questions in modern cosmology.

Euclid’s view of the ‘Mor­pho­log­i­cal Tun­ing Fork’ of gal­axy clas­si­fi­ca­tions

After only two years of observations, ESA’s space telescope Euclid is shedding new light on a long-standing question about the remarkable diversity of galaxies in the Universe. Just like flowers, galaxies come in different colours, sizes, masses, and shapes – all of which are captured in a single word that defines a galaxy: its morphology.

“Dark Galaxy” Dis­cov­ered in the Perseus Clus­ter

An international research team, including Francine Marleau of the University of Innsbruck, has identified a nearly invisible galaxy in the Perseus cluster. The "dark galaxy" was discovered through statistical analyses, which were subsequently confirmed with observational data from telescopes.

Celes­tial spec­ta­cle wit­nessed

A recent study reports the first direct observation of merging star clusters in the nuclear region of dwarf galaxies in Nature. The team was studying observations from the Hubble Space telescope, which were led by Francine Marleau from the University of Innsbruck. This detection confirms the feasibility of this formation route for nuclei in dwarf galaxies, which has long been debated.

Thou­sands of dwarf gal­ax­ies dis­cov­ered

The European Space Agency ESA today published new data from its Euclid space telescope. These used for a galactic census undertaken by astronomer Francine Marleau and her team at the Department of Astro- and Particle Physics at the University of Innsbruck: In Euclid images the scientists identified and characterized 2,674 dwarf galaxies.