A new study has shed light on the intricate cosmic dance between interstellar dust in galaxies, properties of galaxies, and their environments. For a very long time, the relations between dust and the galaxies was investigated. However, the link between dust properties and the neighborhood of galaxies was poorly understood. In the newest work published in Astronomy&Astrophysics, the scientists studied the relationship between the amount of stellar light absorbed by dust, and the environments of galaxies.

On October 16, 2023, a change took place in the position of Deputy Director for Science at NCBJ. The former director, Professor Ewa Rondio, passed on her duties to Professor Agnieszka Pollo, an astrophysicist who has been successfully leading the rapidly developing Department of Astrophysics.

Stellar feedback is expected to play a key role in regulating the evolution of low-mass galaxies by producing galactic-scale winds (also known as outflows) that push the gas away from the interstellar medium, eventually preventing from the formation of new stars. In this respect, an international team of astronomers led by NCBJ scientist, have published a work on the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal addressing the impact of galactic outflows on the baryonic cycle of nearby dwarf galaxies

On June 26, 2023, a Special Colloquium was held, during which awards were presented for the best research and popularization activities in 2022 at the Fundamental Research Department. The winners were Prof. Michał Bluj, a team consisting of Prof. Paweł Ziń and Dr. Maciej Pylak, Dr. Michael Romano, and Prof. Jerzy Kowalski-Glikman and Dr. Miguel Figueira

Interstellar dust is a key component in galaxies. It favors star formation and drives the chemistry and physics of the interstellar medium. However, it hides the majority of stars in a way that it is impossible to observe them. Astrophysicists use dust attenuation laws that would uncover these hidden stars by reverse-engineering the light from galaxies to quantify how many stars are there.

The first edition of the competition under the „Pearls of Science” program has been settled. One of the scientists qualified for the program is Krzysztof Lisiecki, MSc, a PhD student at the Astrophysics Department of the National Center for Nuclear Research, conducting research in the project „In search of witnesses to the early Universe – studying the properties of red nuggets”.