History of the
International Center for Earth Tides (ICET)
Tim van Hoolst, project leader in planetary science at the Royal Observatory of Belgium won the 2019 Runcorn-Florensky Medal of the European Geosciences Union for his seminal contributions to the field of geodesy and geophysics... Read more...
For the first time, scientists from the Royal Observatory of Belgium and the Royal Meteorological Institute compare the data of a meteorological radar with those of a gravimeter, which measures changes in gravity. In a... Read more...
ESCAPE, the ‘European Science Cluster of Astronomy and Particle physics ESFRI research infrastructures’, is an international project supported by the European Commission to boost the implementation of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). EOSC is... Read more...
On November 26, 2018, NASA’s InSight mission will land on the surface of Mars for a two-year mission. The InSight mission (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is the first mission dedicated... Read more...
On November 16, 2018, in Versailles, the General Conference on Weights and Measures officially endorsed the new basic units of the International System of Units (SI; Système Internatiopnal d’Unités). Michel Van Camp, Head of the... Read more...
On August 31, 2018, the European Commission proposed ending daylight saving time. Belgium and its neighbors have to choose whether they will permanently stay at winter time or at summer time. The Royal Observatory of... Read more...
On Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 September 2018, the Space Pole (the Royal Observatory of Belgium, the Royal Meteorological Institute and the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy) opens its doors. The program includes activities for... Read more...
Each year the Royal Palace in Brussels open its doors for the public during the summer period. From July 22 to September 2, 2018, “Science & Culture at the Royal Palace” will present the exhibition... Read more...
Paul Melchior (1925-2004), former director of the Royal Observatory of Belgium, was cartoonist Peyo’s friend. Together they chose to illustrate the current research in Earth sciences at the Observatory with the Smurfs. Hence, no less than... Read more...
This Operational Directorate (OD1) contributes to the elaboration of reference systems and timescales, integrates Belgium in the international reference frames, and studies the interior, rotation, dynamics, and crustal deformation of the Earth and other terrestrial planets and moons of our solar system. Read more...
The main mission of this Operational Directorate (OD2) is studying seismic activity, its causes and its consequences in western Europe. In support of this scientific research and to provide the authorities, the media and the public with relevant information about the seismic activity in real time in our region, this operational direction develops and maintains a network of seismic monitoring in Belgium. Read more...
This Operational Directorate (OD3) conducts scientific research in astronomy, especially in the field of stellar physics and the study of objects of the solar system. Research themes include astrometry, stellar evolution and asteroseismologie. Read more...
This Operational Directorate (OD4) studies the outer layers and the atmosphere of the Sun, with a particular focus on solar activity and the influence it exerts on the Earth and its space environment (space weather). On the ground, the observations are obtained using the Uccle Solar Equatorial Table (USET). Read more...
