on my webpage! I’m a spacecraft analyst at the European Space Operations Centre via Telespazio Germany GmbH. In particular, I am a member of a large team operating Earth Explorer spacecrafts. In the past I have worked as an astrophysicist studing accreting neutron stars and cosmological neutrino sources. For more details please have a look at the “About me” menu.
ESA Space Science News
Firefoxes and whale spouts light up Earth's shield
20/09/2023
Did you know, the Northern lights or Aurora Borealis are created when the mythical Finnish ‘Firefox’ runs so quickly across the snow that its tail causes sparks to fly into the night sky? At least, that’s one of the stories that has been told in Finland about this beautiful phenomenon.
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Follow Euclid's first months in space
18/09/2023
Follow Euclid on its journey to Lagrange point L2 and find out how mission controllers at ESOC in Darmstadt are proceeding with turning on, checking and calibrating the spacecraft’s equipment, the telescope and scientific instruments, as they prepare for routine science observations.
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Webb snaps supersonic outflow of young star
14/09/2023
HH 211 (NIRCam image)
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Solar Orbiter closes in on the solution to a 65-year-old solar mystery
14/09/2023
A cosmic alignment and a little bit of spacecraft gymnastics has provided a ground-breaking measurement that is helping solve the 65-year-old cosmic mystery of why the Sun’s atmosphere is so hot.
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Webb discovers methane and carbon dioxide in atmosphere of K2-18 b
11/09/2023
A new investigation by an international team of astronomers using data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope into K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, has revealed the presence of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and carbon dioxide. The discovery adds to recent studies suggesting that K2-18 b could be a Hycean exoplanet, one which has the potential to possess a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean-covered surface.
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X-ray mission lifts off to study high-energy Universe
07/09/2023
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) lifted off on a H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan at 08:42 JST / 00:42 BST / 01:42 CEST on 7 September 2023.
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Camera ‘hack’ lets Solar Orbiter peer deeper into Sun’s atmosphere
06/09/2023
Scientists have used Solar Orbiter’s EUI camera in a new mode of operation to record part of the Sun’s atmosphere at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths that has been almost impossible to image until now. This new mode of operation was made possible with a last-minute ‘hack’ to the camera and will almost certainly influence new solar instruments for future missions.
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Next major X-ray mission set to launch
04/09/2023
*Update: The new launch date for XRISM is 08:42 JST / 00:42 BST / 01:42 CEST on 7 September 2023*The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) is ready to launch on 7 September 2023 to observe the most energetic objects and events in the cosmos. In doing so, it will unveil the evolution of the Universe and the structure of spacetime.XRISM is a collaboration between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA, with significant participation from ESA. The launch will be streamed live in Japanese and English on JAXA’s YouTube channel.
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Webb captures a cosmic Whirlpool
29/08/2023
The graceful winding arms of the grand-design spiral galaxy M51 stretch across this image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.
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Earendel and the Sunrise Arc in the galaxy cluster WHL0137-08
09/08/2023
This image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope shows a massive galaxy cluster called WHL0137-08, and at the right, an inset of the most strongly magnified galaxy known in the Universe’s first billion years: the Sunrise Arc.
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The Universe in a box: preparing for Euclid’s survey
09/08/2023
ESA’s Euclid mission will create a 3D-map of the Universe that scientists will use to measure the properties of dark energy and dark matter and uncover the nature of these mysterious components.
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The life and times of dust
31/07/2023
This image shows the irregular galaxy NGC 6822, which was observed by the Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) mounted on the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.
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Webb and Gaia welcome Euclid to L2
28/07/2023
In the month after its launch on 1 July, Euclid has travelled 1.
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Webb’s first year in images
12/07/2023
Webb is celebrating the completion of its first year of science operations.
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Euclid launch broadcast replay
01/07/2023
Watch a replay of the launch broadcast for ESA’s Euclid.
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