The Old Observatory houses four historical telescopes. On this page you can learn more about them.

SciSTIP was established on 1 April 2014 as part of the DSI-NRF Centres of Excellence Programme funded by the South Africa’s National Research Foundation (https://www.nrf.ac.za/). SciSTIP is hosted by the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST) at Stellenbosch University and…

The physics of black holes appears to be as far removed from the physics of electrons in metals as it can be.

In this thesis chemical and physical processes in the ice mantles on interstellar dust grains are studied.

NASA’s telescope SOFIA has provided a new glimpse of the chemistry in the inner region surrounding massive young stars where future planets could begin to form. Leiden PhD candidate Andrew Barr writes about it in the Astrophysical Journal. The scientists found massive quantities of water and organic…

On the 25th of September, Alzenir Mendes Martins de Menezes successfully defended a doctoral thesis. Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Alzenir on this achievement!

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In this publication, the authors explore the reality of accessing and interviewing hard-to-reach populations such as extremists and terrorists

It’s never too early to start thinking about your future academic career. During your study you should therefore familiarise yourself with the job market, draw up a personal profile and start working on your CV. The staff of the Master Population Health Management will be happy to help, on all counts.…

Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Augustan Rome: Greek culture in the Roman world.

It’s never too early to start thinking about your future academic career. During your study you should therefore familiarise yourself with the job market, draw up a personal profile and start working on your CV. The staff of the Master's Health, Ageing and Society will be happy to help, on all counts.…

A team of European astronomers under Leiden leadership has discovered that dust particles around a star already coagulate before the star is fully grown. These agglomerated dust particles are the first step in the formation of planets. The research publish their discovery in the journal of Nature As…

Planet formation is a surprisingly homogeneous process that does not take place gradually from inside out, but that occurs everywhere at the same time in a proto-planetary disc, as Dave Lommen has discovered. He will obtain his doctorate this week based on his research into the dust around young stars…

Astronomers led by Leiden astronomer Sebastiaan Haffert have directly imaged two planets that are gravitationally carving out a wide gap within a planet-forming disk surrounding a young star. While over a dozen exoplanets have been directly imaged, this is only the second multi-planet system to be p…

Every year The Young Academy (a sub-group of KNAW) nominates ten talented researchers to join their ranks. This year two of the nominees are from Leiden University: Quentin Bourgeois and Frans Snik.

Is there extra-terrestrial life out there? It now looks as though we can sketch out an answer to this enduring question. Leiden Observatory is helping to build new instruments to find the most promising exoplanets.

The League Against Imperialism: Lives and Afterlives explores the dramatic and engaging story of a global institution that brought together activists across geographical and political borders for the goal of eradicating colonial rule worldwide.

I want to understand the overlap between physical health, mental health, and healthy aging and whether/how stress (behaviorally and biologically) may tie these concepts together.

OB associations are loose groups of young, massive stars. They constitute the last stage of the massive starformation process, and the context in which new stars are formed.

As humans we have a tendency to judge certain actions as either right or wrong. Where does our moral sense come from? We found evidence that infants who are only one year old prefer those who comfort as opposed to ignore another who is sad.

Many members of the Royal Family have studied at Leiden University and several have been awarded an honorary doctorate.

Many members of the Dutch Royal Family have studied at Leiden University and several have been awarded an honorary doctorate. In 1987, current King Willem-Alexander followed in the academic footsteps of his mother Beatrix, his aunt Margriet and his grandmother Juliana, and started his History studies…

Do you want to make contact with talented young people at an early stage of their career? Career Services can help you can get in touch with students and young alumni of Leiden University.

For our students, studying in The Hague can make a big difference. The Hague is proud to be known as the international city of peace and justice. The city is full of opportunity and is a fantastic student city.

Getting started with active learning & teaching can be as simple as assessing on what is already accomplished. Here are some practical courses of action to begin experimenting with active learning, whether you are a teacher or responsible for the spaces.

The programme is also offered in a blended learning version: this is a combination of distance learning and face-to-face learning. Read more information

For the first time, astronomers have detected the presence of complex organic molecules, the building blocks of life, in a protoplanetary disc surrounding a young star. The discovery reaffirms that the conditions that spawned the Earth and Sun are not unique in the Universe. The results are published…

From the end of 2026, drone flights could be tested out of visual range in a special zone above the North Sea. Assistant Professor Benjamyn I. Scott commentys in regional newspaper ‘Leidsch Dagblad’: 'Safety remains paramount in aviation.'

Marlon Titre (1982) studied at Royal Conservatoire The Hague, did his PhD and studied at Leiden University, earned several other qualifications and is now, among others, Director of Filmhuis The Hague. Who is this multi-talent?

Detecting planets during their formation stages is crucial for understanding the history and diversity of fully developed planetary systems like our own. However, observing young planets directly is challenging because they are often deeply embedded within their host protoplanetary discs, rich in gas…

Although migration and integration have become important concepts today as a result of globalization, migration movements, integration, and multiculturalism have always been part of the history of Europe. Few people realize how many ethnic groups participated in migration within Europe or into Europe…

On 21 May 2025, the chief negotiators of Switzerland and the EU Brevier initialled a package of agreements intended to strengthen their legal ties that have developed since the 1950s

The Iraqi archaeological site of Nimrud was recently recaptured from IS. The site has been severely damaged. The question now is, what to do with it? Should it be restored? Bleda Düring spoke with Trouw about this complex issue.

As we are working very hard to make our University more green, it is of upmost importance that you join us in our battle and start increasing the local biodiversity from your own house! Every bit will help, it is beneficial for you own mental health and most importantly it is fun! We have created this…

Language courses from February onwards

In the past 30 years, over 5,000 planets have been discovered outside our solar system. One common exoplanet is the lava world, a hot super-Earth with oceans of liquid lava. Mantas Zilinskas developed models to simulate possible atmospheres of these. Those simulations provide guidance for astronomers…

The ALMA Local Expertise Group (Allegro) is located in the Leiden Observatory (Sterrewacht). Professor Ewine van Dishoeck: ‘The Netherlands has played an important role in establishing ALMA. Thanks to this subsidy, we can now reap the scientific benefits.'

The European Research Council has awarded an Advanced Grant to Prof. dr. Maarten E.R.G.N. Jansen for the research project

Three Leiden astronomers have shown that some asteroids that are considered harmless for now, can collide with Earth in the future. They did their research with the help of an artificial neural network. The results have been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

This project investigates the well-preserved agricultural terraces of the Inn valley and the evolution of resource use in the inner Alps.

At LIACS, we recognize the growing need for advanced technical support in research projects and lab education. Increasing student numbers, more and more advanced hardware and infrastructure, new demands around data safety and management, and the complexity of core computer science courses necessitate…

More than 600 staff members and students of Leiden University did not survive the war. Two of them were Caroline van Loen and Elsa Oppenheim .

Dorothea Schulz & Martin Hense