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 Operational Directorate “Seismology and Gravimetry” of the Royal Observatory of Belgium, and his colleagues at the Federal Institute of Metrology in Bern and the University [...]
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 Belgium presents some astronomical documents and data in order to stimulate a reflection on this choice. [...]
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 young and old. Visit the telescopes, the climate center or the virtual weather office; follow one of the many thematic lectures; be amazed by the [...]
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 “Wonder” with an original selection of works of art, scientific instruments and astonishing natural phenomena.
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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 18 greeting cards featuring the joyful little blue men are published from 1966, all of them being inspired by the research and instruments of the [...]
On March 2018, the French-speaking program “Matière Grise” from the RTBF (Radio-Télévision belge de la Communauté française) celebrated its 20th anniversary during a gala evening with Paris Match Belgium. On this occasion, several trophies were awarded to the researchers who were particularly involved in the making of their programs.
Dr. Eva Robbrecht, who worked in the Royal Observatory of Belgium, was [...]
Brussels / Antwerp, May 14, 2018. The planetary scientists at the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) are delighted to announce the signing of a contract between the European Space Agency’s PRODEX (PROgramme for the Development of scientific Experiments) programme and Antwerp Space for the delivery of LaRa (Lander Radioscience), a ‘martian’ instrument onboard ExoMars 2020. [...]
On Thursday, May 3, 2018, a new law on the Belgian legal time was adopted by the Parliament, based on a recommendation from the Royal Observatory of Belgium. The legal time was, according to the law dating from 1892, the solar time of the Greenwich meridian. Today legal time in Belgium is aligned with the official world reference: the Universal [...]
30 April 2018 – On 5 May 2018, a delegation of scientists from the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) will attend to the launch of InSight, a NASA mission to Mars. [...]
On 25 April 2018, the European Space Agency (ESA) announces the largest and most accurate 3-dimensional map of our Milky Way galaxy ever made. Using the Gaia satellite, the position and motion of more than a billion stars was mapped by a consortium of European astronomers, including scientists from the Royal Observatory of Belgium. This map will be a treasure [...]