๐Ÿ“ก South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope mapped 115 galaxy clusters and found 103 diffuse radio emissions โ€“ 60 never seen before! The MGCLS II catalogue (Rhodes Univ. & SARAO, led by K. Kolokythas) reveals energetic processes in the spaces between galaxies, visible only in radio. A stunning preview of what the full SKA will deliver.

๐Ÿ“… Apr 2, 2026
๐Ÿ”— https://dailygalaxy.com/2026/04/meerkat-telescope-60-new-cosmic-structures/

#RadioAstronomy #Astronomy #DataScience #Science

MeerKAT Telescope Uncovers 60 New Cosmic Structures, Revealing the Hidden Forces Shaping Our Universe

South Africaโ€™s MeerKAT telescope has uncovered 60 new cosmic structures, providing new insights into the energy-filled spaces between galaxies and offering a deeper understanding of the universeโ€™s evolution.

The Daily Galaxy - Great Discoveries Channel

๐ŸŒ‹ A supermassive black hole in galaxy J1007+3540 has reawakened after ~100 million years of silence! LOFAR (Netherlands) & uGMRT (India) radio telescopes captured fresh jets slamming into the hot gas of the surrounding galaxy cluster, bending into a plasma flow nearly 1 million light-years long. Published in MNRAS.

๐Ÿ“… Apr 11, 2026
๐Ÿ”— https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/research-highlights/reborn-black-hole-spotted-erupting-cosmic-volcano

#RadioAstronomy #Astronomy #Science

'Reborn' black hole spotted 'erupting like cosmic volcano'

drupal-media[data-view-mode=half_page_width] { display: inline-block; width: 50%; } One of the most vivid portraits of โ€œrebornโ€ black hole activity โ€“ likened t...

The Royal Astronomical Society

๐Ÿ”ญ China's SYISRโ€“FAST bistatic radar mapped the lunar south pole! Sanya radar transmitted at 430 MHz while the giant 500m FAST radio telescope received echoes. Result: surface water ice content at the south pole is max 0โ€“6 wt% โ€“ ice is likely buried deep below the surface. Key data for future Artemis & Chang'e-7 missions.

๐Ÿ“… March 2026
๐Ÿ”— https://interestingengineering.com/space/lunar-water-ice-mapped-with-telescope

#RadioAstronomy #Space #NASA #Science

China taps world's largest radio telescope to seek moon's hidden water

Chinese researchers used Earth-based radar and the worldโ€™s largest radio telescope to estimate ice content in lunar soil.

Interesting Engineering

๐Ÿ“ก For the first time ever, scientists searched for alien signals from the Moon's far side! China's Chang'E-4 used its radio spectrometer in the quietest radio environment humanity has ever accessed. No signal found โ€“ but the methodology works, opening the door for future lunar SETI projects.

๐Ÿ“… Apr 13, 2026
๐Ÿ”— https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-most-quiet-place-weve-ever-listened-from

#RadioAstronomy #Science #Space #Astronomy

The Most Quiet Place We've Ever Listened From!

For the first time in history, scientists have used a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon to search for signals from extraterrestrial intelligence. China's Chang'E-4 lander sat in the most radio quiet location humanity has ever placed an instrument, shielded from Earth's constant electronic chatter by the entire bulk of the Moon itself. They found nothing but that is almost beside the point!

Universe Today

๐Ÿ“ก The hunt for dark matter begins! University of Virginia installed a 5m radio telescope at Fan Mountain Observatory. It searches for axions โ€” hypothetical dark matter particles โ€” using neutron stars as cosmic traps. The intense magnetic fields of pulsars should convert axions into detectable radio signals.

๐Ÿ“… Apr 8, 2026
๐Ÿ”— https://news.virginia.edu/content/new-radio-telescope-help-uva-astronomers-stalk-dark-matter-deep-space

#RadioAstronomy #Astronomy #Science #DataScience #Space

New radio telescope to help UVA astronomers stalk dark matter in deep space

Astronomers are adding the instrument to the suite of telescopes at the Universityโ€™s Fan Mountain Observatory.

UVA Today
New in the #VirtualObservatory: โ€œFormaldehyde observationsโ€ by Barlach Christensen I. et al.
https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/708/A201
#RadioAstronomy #MolecularClouds
VizieR J/A+A/708/A201

VizieR catalogues

๐ŸŒ‹ A supermassive black hole in galaxy J1007+3540 has woken after 100 million years of silence, launching fresh jets spanning nearly a million light-years. Radio telescopes LOFAR (NL) and the upgraded GMRT (IN) revealed multiple cycles of activity โ€“ a true โ€žcosmic volcano".

๐Ÿ”— https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260411022037.htm

#RadioAstronomy #Astronomy #Space #Science

Black hole wakes after 100 million years and erupts like a cosmic volcano

A colossal โ€œcosmic volcanoโ€ has erupted in deep space, as a supermassive black hole in galaxy J1007+3540 roars back to life after nearly 100 million years of silence. Astronomers captured stunning radio images showing fresh jets blasting outward while crashing into the intense pressure of a surrounding galaxy cluster, creating a chaotic, distorted structure stretching nearly a million light-years.

ScienceDaily

โœจ๐Ÿ”ญ If you're interested in learning more about #SpaceScience in the region, I have two older posts about a visit I made with my former institute to the #Effelsberg #RadioTelescope ( @MPIfR_Bonn) and the #Stockert radio telescope ( #Astropeiler).

Here's the link to the Effelsberg post:

๐ŸŒ https://www.fabriziomusacchio.com/blog/2021-05-01-effelsberg/

#SpacePhysics #Observatory #Telescope #RadioAstronomy #Astronomy #MPIfR

๐Ÿ“ก Radio astronomy sensation! An MPIfR team led by Silke Britzen has found a close pair of supermassive black holes in galaxy Markarian 501. 23 years of VLBI data revealed two jets โ€“ the black holes orbit with a ~121-day period and could merge within ~100 years. (MNRAS)

๐Ÿ”— https://phys.org/news/2026-04-pair-supermassive-black-holes.html
๐Ÿ“… 7 Apr 2026

#RadioAstronomy #Astronomy #Science #Space

First close pair of supermassive black holes detected

Supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies are one of the most active fields of research in astronomy. In order to accumulate their enormous masses, they must merge with each other. A research team led by Silke Britzen from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn has found direct evidence of two supermassive black holes in the galaxy Markarian 501, which orbit each other very closely. This could be the first time that a pair has been detected that is about to merge. This provides a unique opportunity to better understand a central process in galaxy evolution.

Phys.org