The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 mission is extended until August 2028. This space mission, involving a significant Belgian contribution, is studying the lower layers of the Sun’s corona. The pair of satellites were originally due to complete their mission at the end of this year. Thanks to the exceptional scientific and technological results already achieved by this space mission, [...]
8 June 2026 marks the 200th anniversary of the Royal Observatory of Belgium. To mark the occasion, the institute organises a wide range of activities, with events scheduled right through to 2027. These are regularly updated on the Observatory’s 200th anniversary website: 200year.observatory.be. [...]
From the 1st to the 30th of June 2026 an airborne campaign – with the name MAGIC Avalon – will take place over France and Belgium for the validation of the new European weather satellite Metop-Second Generation. [...]
On Tuesday 10 March 2026, the second workshop on Belgian Time and Frequency Services (BTFS) was held at the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB). It brought together around thirty interested participants to discuss the latest developments and applications. Thanks to the use of an optical network for the distribution of time and frequency signals, this technology is immune to GNSS [...]
The Belgian-led ASPIICS coronagraph aboard ESA’s Proba-3 mission reveals a dynamic birthplace of the solar wind
Observations made by the ASPIICS coronagraph aboard the Proba-3 mission of ESA reveal a world of small-scale activity in the Sun’s inner corona, according to a new study led by the Royal Observatory of Belgium. These observations suggest that the region where the solar wind forms [...]
On February 6, six researchers, including two from the Royal Observatory of Belgium, shared their knowledge on solar storms and space weather with a special audience during the eleventh Battle of the Scientists. 2,700 enthusiastic primary school children, 500 of whom were in the auditorium and 2,200 via livestream, voted for the most insightful presentation. The Belgian Space Weather Centre [...]
Last Monday, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) released a new Picture of the Week. It is an image of a pair of stars and its surrounding nebula. The two stars constitute the binary system AFGL 4106, which was recently studied in a recent Astronomy and Astrophysics paper, of which René Oudmaijer of the Royal Observatory of Belgium is a co-author. [...]
The Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) and Belnet are delighted to announce that – as part of the BOOSTED project – the first span of the Belgian time and frequency network is operational since December 4, 2025. [...]
In 2025, 137 earthquakes were located by the Royal Observatory of Belgium in or near Belgium. On Belgian territory, no earthquake was large enough to have been felt. [...]
December 5, 2024 – 1 year ago, the duo satellite Proba-3 left Earth to head to space. The telescope ASPIICS, whose task is to make perfect total solar eclipses from space, was onboard. The launch went flawless.
December 5, 2025 – exactly 1 year later, ASPIICS has already delivered a wealth of amazing pictures of the solar atmosphere close to its [...]