Skip to main content
ASTRON logo

Telescopes

ASTRON is responsible for the operations of the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) and the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR).

Astronomy

The astronomical research at ASTRON is closely aligned with the strengths of our facilities LOFAR and WSRT-APERTIF.

Diversity & Sustainability

ASTRON is committed to achieving a fair, welcoming, and sustainable work environment for all.

Beschermingszones


Met onze radiotelescopen nemen wij de meest zwakke signalen uit het heelal waar. Daardoor zijn zij kwetsbaar voor elektromagnetische storing. Met het tijdig treffen van de juiste maatregelen kan storing worden voorkomen.

Wireless Data Lab


Draadloze techniek lijkt vanzelfsprekend, maar de ontwikkeling ervan gaat niet vanzelf. Daarom hebben we bij ASTRON een proeftuin ingericht; het Wireless Data Lab.

Making discoveries
in radio astronomy
happen.

ASTRON is the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, and is part of the Institutes organisation of NWO.
STORIES

‘Beyond what we’d hoped’: international telescope in Australia captures first glimpse of the Universe

The first image from the international SKA Observatory’s telescope in Australia, SKA-Low, has been released – a significant milestone in its quest to reveal an unparalleled view of our Universe.

Science
SKA
Published by the editorial team, 17 March 2025

New Technology for Ultra-Fast Data Transfer: SURF and ASTRON Establish 400G Connection

SURF and ASTRON have implemented the OpenZR+ technology to establish a 400G network connection, significantly enhancing scientific research in the Netherlands.

LOFAR
News
Published by the editorial team, 20 February 2025

Astronomers Astonished: Enigmatic Distant Radio Bursts Appear to be Neutron Stars

Using the radio telescope at Westerbork, The Netherlands, astronomers have discovered two dozen of the unexplained Fast Radio Bursts. After zooming in on the signal of the distant bursts, the astronomers found a striking similarity to the radio flashes emitted by nearby, known neutron stars. The discovery is remarkable because these nearby neutron stars already produce more energy than anything achievable on Earth. The distant stars that emit the Fast Radio Bursts must somehow generate an astounding one billion times more energy than the nearby ones.

Astronomy
News
Science
WSRT-APERTIF
Published by the editorial team, 23 January 2025

European Pulsar Timing Array Wins Two Prestigious Awards

The European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) has been honored with two major awards for its groundbreaking work in gravitational wave astronomy. In 2024, the team received the International Congress of Basic Sciences (ICBS) Frontiers of Science Award in China, followed by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) Group Achievement Award in the United Kingdom in 2025.These accolades celebrate the team’s innovative use of pulsar timing to detect low-frequency gravitational waves. The EPTA is a collaborative effort involving scientists from more than ten institutions across Europe. ASTRON is one of the participating organisations in this project with its most sensitive radio telescope including the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. (WSRT).

Astronomy
News
Science
WSRT-APERTIF
Published by the editorial team, 16 January 2025

Roelien Attema named as Netherlands Academy of Engineering Fellow

Using short radio flashes to probe the remnants of neutron star mergers

LOFAR1 operations stopped, telescope gearing up for 2.0 upgrade

Gargantuan Black Hole Jets Are Biggest Seen Yet

Second-Generation Starlink Satellites Leak 30 Times More Radio Interference, Threatening Astronomical Observations

1 2 3 81
DAILY IMAGE

Successful observations with first ALF demonstrator

© The ALF team, ASTRON

Within just under 6 months after the project started, the ALF team has already managed to design, build, mount and operate the very first ALF demonstrator. This is a very rudimentary system, but with sufficient complexity that success was not a given, and the timeline was ambitious. In addition to the highly motivated team, the very nice March weather has definitely helped to ensure the telescope was ready well in time.

Last week Wednesday the demonstrator was mounted on WSRT RT2 and since then several observations have been taken. Of course these included the infamous pulsar B0329+54, shown in the image. The pulsar signal was clearly visible in the first raw recorded data without any further processing, as shown in the dynamic spectrum and time series. The other pictures in the slide show are an impression of the mounting and the first detection of one of the Galileo satellites.

The instrument is based around a new LNA, which is connected to the MFFE L-band horn and OMT (orthomode transducer). A sensitive receiver chain further conditions the signal to be captured with a SDR, all included in the feed box. The data capturing is performed on a computer that can offload the data offline to a processing cluster.

This first demonstrator has been essential to verify that the basic design of the receiver is viable, and to understand where improvements can be made. For the next demonstrator a new horn design and active OMT will be implemented. It will also include a new SDR, and a custom-made analogue receiver rack that conditions both polarizations to be captured with a wide bandwidth SDR.

If you want to hear more about this amazing project and see the very latest observations, come to the special astro-lunch talk on 9 April in the Auditorium where more results will be presented. Jason Hessels will talk about the science potential of the ALF receiver and Mark Ruiter will discuss the technical design and next steps.

ASTRON daily image.
EVENTS

CASPER Workshop 2025

Mon 08 Sep 2025 - Fri 12 Sep 2025

The CASPER workshop is a semi-annual workshop where FPGA, GPU, and general heterogeneous system programmers get together to discuss new instruments in radio astronomy, as well as the tools and libraries for developing and manipulating these instruments.

@astron

Subscribe to our newsletter. For previous editions, click here.

searchclosechevron-downlinkedin-squarebarsyoutube-playinstagramfacebook-officialcross