On 14 May, nominations for members of the Committee on Astronomy of the Polish Academy of Sciences for the term 2024-2027 were announced. Among the members were scientists from the NCBJ's Astrophysics Division. Prof Katarzyna Małek was also elected to the Presidium of the Committee.

Dust represents an important component of the interstellar medium of galaxies and is involved in various physical processes. As a consequence, it is crucial to understand the factors that influence its formation and destruction. In a recent study, a team of scientists led by dr Ambra Nanni of the NCBJ’s Astrophysics Division analysed the effect of photo-evaporation on the survival of dust in the interstellar medium of galaxies.

Can we see what is hidden in a cloud of dust without the aid of infrared vision? Scientists involved in the largest optical survey of the sky this decade, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), led by a group from the NCBJ’s Astrophysics Division, in a paper published in April in Astronomy & Astrophysics, propose a novel method to extract information about dust in galaxies without actually observing its infrared light.

Having an accurate understanding of the star formation process is essential to comprehend the formation and evolution of galaxies, and this requires to unveil the impact of environment on star formation. In a new study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, scientists used a new survey of the outer Galaxy to refine the distance and properties of star-forming clumps and study how star formation behave in comparison with the inner Galaxy.

Dr. Michael Romano, a researcher at the Department of Astrophysics of the National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ), has been honored with the prestigious "Early Career Research Award" by the journal "Astronomy & Astrophysics" (A&A). The "Early Career Research Award" is bestowed annually upon young scientists who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in the field of astrophysics.

Theoretical predictions have been confirmed with the discovery of an outflow of molecular gas from a quasar when the Universe was less than a billion years old. The results obtained from the observations of the ALMA telescope are of great importance for understanding the processes of star formation in galaxies. Dr. Darko Donevski from the NCBJ Astrophysics Division participated in the work of the research team.