Supervisor: S.F. Portegies Zwart Co-Supervisor: A.G.A. Brown

Even though more than 4000 extra-solar planets are known today, only a small fraction of these has been captured in an image. To better understand the planet formation mechanisms in solar-like environments we started the Young Suns Exoplanet Survey (YSES).

Physicist Christopher Berg Smiet, who recently obtained his PhD in Leiden, has been awarded an NWO Rubicon. The grant allows him to conduct postdoctoral research for two years at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in the United States.

The Leiden Observatory is starting a crowdfunding campaign to raise enough money to construct a new telescope.

A team of astronomers led by Dutch scientists have directly imaged a giant planet orbiting at a large distance around a sun-like star. Why this planet is so massive, and how it got to be there, is still a mystery. The researchers will publish their findings in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

This lecture will be hosted on Thursday, 9 April 2026 at 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm.

Staring into the clouds hoping for a glimpse of the sun, cheering in encouragement, video recordings: there was no shortage of things to do at the Leiden Observatory. More than 600 visitors witnessed the last, almost complete solar eclipse of the decade..

The focus of this thesis is how stars like our Sun and planets like Jupiter, Saturn, and Earth are formed.

ALMA has observed stars like the Sun at a very early stage in their formation and found traces of methyl isocyanate - a chemical building block of life. This is the first ever detection of this prebiotic molecule towards solar-type protostars, the sort from which our Solar System evolved. The discovery…

Leiden University has partnerships in the local region, in the Netherlands, in Europe and with countries on almost all the world's continents. Students and researchers benefit from these partnerships, but society is also a beneficiary, says Rector Carel Stolker.

The solar system was formed approximately 4.56 billion years ago. Despite the numerous theories that have been developed over the years, the formation and evolution of the solar system still remain unclear.

The support staff provides support for daily operations, personnel, projects and finances

The Education Office Astronomy supports all aspects of the Astronomy bachelor and master education programmes. Its main focus is on education quality assurance, student monitoring, education-related PR, student recruitment, job market orientation and alumni policy.

On the 3rd of April, Sebastiaan van der Lubben successfully defended a doctoral thesis. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Sebastiaan on this achievement!

The Computer Support group provides dedicated support for the computing infrastructure of Leiden Observatory

The directorate of Leiden Observatory consists of the Scientific Director, the Director of Education and the Director of Operations.

An overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2019, as well as special appointments and royal distinctions.

An overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2021, as well as special appointments at Leiden University and other institutions.

Thousands of first-year students and hundreds of mentors kicked off the EL CID on Monday morning. This year for the first time, the introduction week of Leiden University and Leiden University of Applied Sciences was also open for students of Regional Training Centre mboRijnland and the Leiden Instrument…

An overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2018, as well as special appointments and royal distinctions.

An overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2020, as well as special appointments at Leiden University and other institutions.

What is the Fine Mechanical Department?

This page contains all relevant information for lecturers teaching in the Astronomy bachelor's and/or master's curriculum at Leiden University.

General

Leiden University has participated in an international study carried out by the CARMENES consortium, which has discovered two small, terrestrial planets around Teegarden’s Star. The planets have masses similar to Earth and their temperatures could be mild enough to sustain liquid water on their surf…

Working for a top faculty? Discover the vacancies at the Faculty of Science and apply immediately.

The Old Observatory has a rich history. On this page you will find a short version of the history that took place in the observatory.

Do you have questions about the Astronomy master’s programme? Please contact us.

Do you have questions about the Astronomy master’s programme? Please contact us.

By carrying out fundamental research and providing excellent education, universities become a breeding ground for innovation and entrepreneurship.

On Monday 9 May Mercury will pass between the Earth and the Sun. This rare event can be followed in the Leiden Observatory. The Observatory's new solar telescope produces a very clear image and offers a unique opportunity to observe Mercury at the highest magnification possible in the Netherlands.

Do you have questions about the Master’s specialisation Astronomy and Instrumentation? Please contact us.

From where litter ends up to which languages are spoken in Leiden and The Hague: over 50 interesting, surprising, complex and entertaining questions were sent in for the Citizen Science project to mark our 444th anniversary. Not one but two Citizen Science projects will be starting this year in Leiden…

Do you have questions about the Astronomy master’s programme? Please contact us.

Do you have questions about the master’s specialisation Astronomy Research? Please contact us.

Do you have questions about the Master’s specialisation Astronomy and Data Science? Please contact us!

Do you have questions about the master’s specialisation Astronomy and Cosmology? Please contact us.