Welcome to the webpage of the
Konkoly Thege Miklós Astronomical Institute of the
HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences
The Astronomical Institute (Konkoly Observatory in English) is the leading astronomical research institute in Hungary, and one of the most important astro hubs in the whole Eastern-Central-European region. We have more than 60 researchers, 20% of whom are non-Hungarians. The activities of our nine research groups cover most of the research areas in astronomy and astrophysics, from stellar physics to Solar System research and stellar and planetary formation, from exoplanets to nuclear and extragalactic astrophysics and cosmology. The Astronomical Institute has two satellites (cubesats) on low-Earth orbits, and we participate in several European space programs, as well. Researchers of the Institute won 2 ERC- and 7 Lendület (Momentum) grants. We are proud of the Konkoly Nobel Program and the Konkoly Research Assistant Program that supports university students. We have an extensive talent management program, in which we train and teach bright students in secondary schools, as well as organize the all-year training and competitions in the International Olympiad in Astronomy and Astrophysics series.
Our Observatory was founded as a private observatory by Miklós Konkoly-Thege in Ógyalla (Hurbanovo) and was later donated to the Hungarian State in 1899. The Astronomical Institute along with the Geographical Institute and the Institute for Geological and Geochemical Research constitute the Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences (CSFK). CSFK is an MTA Centre of Excellence certified research center and is part of the Hungarian Research Network (HUN-REN) from 1 September, 2019. The Piszkéstető Mountain Station hosts the largest telescopes in Hungary, and is operated by our Institute. The 'National Observatory' was awarded by the TOP50 research Infrastructure in Hungary seal. The Astronomical Institute collaborates with the most important universities in Hungary, and runs the Svábhegyi Observatory, a unique interactive astronomical visitor center at Normafa.
The main research areas of the Astronomical Institute
Stellar structure and evolution
One of the main research fields in Konkoly Observatory is studying stellar structure and evolution. The Observatory has been a world-leading centre in pulsating variable star research for many decades, especially in studying Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars. By using oscillations of stars, we can explore the inner structure of stars, a field called asteroseismology. Stars showing pulsations are ideal to measure cosmic distances and to study the Galactic structure and evolution, as well.
We use sophisticated numerical hydrodynamical simulations to learn more about pulsations and oscillations. The observations of these stars has been revolutionized recently by space photometric missions (such as CoRoT, Kepler/K2, TESS and soon PLATO) in which our researchers have been heavily involved in the last one and a half decades, as well as by large ground-based sky surveys, like WEAVE and Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Recently, we have started to develop image-based classification algorithms using machine learning techniques. These algorithms mimic those processes that happen in the human brain during recognizing different variable star classes. It is important to develop such Big Data algorithms to tackle the prospective petabyte-zettabyte (millions – billions of terabytes) databases of the near future coming from large sky surveys.
Stellar and planetary formation
The origin of the Solar System and its planets, in particular the Earth, is one of the oldest questions humanity has ever asked. Thanks to modern astronomical methods, we have discovered more than 5700 exoplanets, and we now know that most stars have planetary systems. Understanding how stars and planetary systems form is at the forefront of 21st century astronomical research is. Planetary systems are formed in the circumstellar debris disks, which contain the leftover material of stellar formation. The main profile of one of our research groups is to study the structure and dynamics of these disks. The research is based on state-of-the-art observing technology, in the optical, infrared, and microwave domains, with extensive use of space telescopes (Hubble, Spitzer, Herschel, Gaia, James Webb) and the largest ground-based telescopes (including the VLT – Very Large Telescope in Chile and the ALMA radio antenna system). By combining the light from separate telescopes to achieve the angular resolution of a single giant telescope, interferometric measurements allow us to study the geometry, physics and chemistry of the material around stars with exquisite detail. The development and dissemination of this observing technique is also supported by a European network of interferometry expertise centers, established and run by the Konkoly research group, which provides professional assistance in the design, implementation and evaluation of interferometric measurements. Better understanding of exoplanets can be achieved by using dedicated space telescopes, like the European Space Agency's CHEOPS, PLATO, and Ariel missions, in which Konkoly astronomers have been involved for more than a decade. CHEOPS is working since 2019, PLATO will be launched in 2026, while Ariel will have to wait until 2029 to be launched. The latter is an infrared space telescope with a mission of studying the atmosphere of 1000 exoplanets. This cutting-edge observing culture has been accompanied by a theoretical modelling background that simulates the structure and dynamics of the young stellar environment using graphics processors, cloud-based computations, and machine learning methods.
Stellar activity
Sunspots, solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – these phenomena are collectively known as manifestations of solar activity, of which the "moving spirit" is the magnetic dynamo. On the analogy of solar activity, starspots testify to the magnetic dynamos operating in the stars. Studying magnetic activity in stars of different types and ages therefore helps us to understand how magnetic dynamos work not only in stars but in the Sun, as well. Members of one of our research groups deal with the following specific topics, among others: by examining long-time data series, we look for activity cycles on stars similar to the solar cycle; by using high-resolution spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric data, we reconstruct stellar surface structures and examine their evolution over time; we search for stellar flares in space photometric data using machine learning algorithms; the characteristics of flares are analyzed using statistical methods; we search for traces of stellar CMEs in the astrospheres of active stars; we study the conditions of habitability in the environment of active stars. Based on all of this, we expect answers to the exciting ultimate questions of our day, such as: How solar activity affects the Earth's climate? What is the role of solar (and stellar) activity in the emergence of life? Can solar (as well stellar) activity pose a threat to established forms of life, and if so, how?
Solar System research
Solar System research in Konkoly Observatory is focused mainly on small bodies: near-Earth and main belt asteroids, Kuiper belt objects, and dwarf planets. The 60/90 Schmidt telescope at Piszkéstető is dedicated to the discovery of Neart-Earth Objects and objects on a collision course with Earth. This is the most successful discovery project outside the US, a very important project for planetary defense, also recognized and supported by the European Space Agency and the space commnunity. We use data of asteroid brightness variations (from large space surveys, in particular the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to obtain rotational properties, shapes and phase curves. This is the largest such sample ever assembled, providing insights into the collisional history and surface material characteristics for hundred thousands of asteroids in the main minor planet populations. Multi-wavelength and multi-instrument data from ground-based and space telescopes are used to study the complex systems of the Centaurs and trans-Neptunian objects, including their rings and satellites. These measurements are the foundations of formation, internal structure and chemical evolution models, in some cases pointing to unprecedented phenomena which greatly impact our understanding of these distant worlds.
Extragalactic astronomy
The main targets of our radio astronomical research are distant active galactic nuclei, quasars. These objects are powered by one (or in some cases more) supermassive black holes in their centres, with up to billions of solar masses. They accrete matter from their surroundings, producing powerful radiation in the entire electromagnetic spectrum, making them observable practically up to the end of the visible universe. The relativistic plasma jets emanated from the close vicinity of the central black hole produce radio emission via the synchrotron mechanism, and are in fact the largest particle accelerators in the universe, believed to be sources of neutrino emission as well. For our observations, we use large international radio telescope networks spanning the entire Earth, and even occasionally extending into space thanks to antennas placed on board satellites. The technique called very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) provides the finest angular resolution available in modern astronomy. In addition to astrophysical studies, VLBI observations of radio-emitting jets allow us to construct an accurate celestial reference frame defined by the practically motionless distant quasars. This can then be applied to precise astrometric measurements of other radio-emitting celestial objects, e.g. fainter quasars, or even interplanetary spacecrafts. In our program that targets transient objects in distant extragalaxies we investigate supernovae (exploding stars), gamma-ray bursts, outbursts of active galactic nuclei, and tidal disruption events of stars destroyed by supermassive black holes. The data are coming from the 0.8 m robotic telescope located in our Piszkéstető Observatory and from other observatories – located both in Hungary and abroad – as well as space observatories. The observations are then compared to complex theoretical models in order to get a clear picture about the extreme phyiscal processes ongoing in these exotic objects.
Cosmology
An over-arching goal of cosmology is a reconstruction of how minuscule density fluctuations seen in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies grow to the intricate cosmic web. The consensus ΛCDM (Lambda-Cold Dark Matter) cosmological model has shown remarkable explanatory power over a variety of cosmic scales and epochs, and it narrates a reassuring story of a universe currently filled mostly with dark matter and dark energy. Yet, this explanation is not fully satisfactory from a fundamental physics perspective, because the actual nature of the dark components remains a puzzle. In a recent Lendület project, a team in the Institute develops new tools to comprehend the elusive dark energy component by using state-of-the-art galaxy and quasar survey data sets. They probe the growth rate of structure in extreme environments near density peaks traced by powerful QSOs, as well as in dark and empty voids. In particular, they study in detail how dark energy stretches the largest cosmic superclusters and the vast voids, spanning about 300 million light-years, leaving smoking-gun evidence in the form of secondary hot and cold spots on CMB temperature/lensing anisotropy maps. They entertain an emerging new hypothesis that recently reported cosmological anomalies, concerning the delicate balance of expansion and structure growth, might be explained if the expansion of the Universe is inhomogeneous, in contrast with the core assumption of the concordance model. The main goal of the this program is to make decisive cross-correlation measurements of super-structures and the CMB in un-probed, key redshift ranges, where the standard and alternative models of dark energy differ most significantly (z > 1). Their groundwork results from the SDSS/BOSS, Pan-STARRS, and DES surveys put the group in a strong position to lead the planned new LSST-DESC, Euclid, J-PAS, and WEAVE-QSO analyses. With these new probes of the cosmic web, they hope to determine whether some as-yet unknown physical effects or systematic biases complicate the cosmic picture. Either way we are gathering new knowledge about the Universe on the largest scales.
Instrument and satellite development
The GRBAlpha nanosatellite was developed and integrated with the leadership by Konkoly Observatory. This device - built within the framework of a Hungarian-Slovakian-Japanese collaboration and having a size of a 1U-sized CubeSat, i.e. 10 x 10 x 11.3 cm - is the smallest ever and currently operational astrophysical spa
ce observatory. Since its start in March 2021, our nanosatellite has observed nearly a hundred gamma-ray bursts: these bursts are thought to be the most violent explosions within the known Universe. By investigating the measurements related to these gamma-ray bursts, we can derive the characteristics of merging compact objects, such as black holes and/or neutron stars, or one can analyze the final moments of the most massive stars during the supernova expositions marking their end of life. While several large satellite missions have been dedicated to observe gamma-ray bursts, the employment of small satellites or nanosatellites also bears several advantages. One of these advantages is the proof-of-concept nature of the underlying technologies - such as the implementation of the related competitive astrophysical measurements by such a small scaled device or onboard software upgrades allowing the continuous fine-tuning and improvement of instrument control, onboard data acquisition and data processing. In addition, we can emphasize the importance of the complementary measurements with respect to the larger missions and also the flight heritage of these proven technology demonstrations that could form the baseline of a future multi-satellite constellation initiative for gamma-ray or high energy astrophysics. In addition to GRBAlpha, Konkoly Observatory participated in other space missions, including the picosatellite MRC-100, led by the Budapest University of Technology and Economics and the VZLUSAT-2 mission, led by the Czech Aerospace Research Centre (VZLU). These satellites contain in-house developments of attitude determination subsystems, gamma detectors similar to the one of GRBAlpha and several types of on-board software functionalities. GRBBeta, the big brother of GRBAlpha, was launched successfully in July 2024.
Laboratory astrophysics
We exploit the synergies and the resources resulting from the fusion of the largest astronomical and two Earth science institutes in Hungary. Multidisciplinary research is pursued in Earth science and astronomy related topics, ranging from laboratory activities to computer-based modeling. One of our research groups focusses on the analysis of the Martian and lunar surfaces, asteroid surfaces, meteorites, and the related early evolution of the Solar System. Beyond these, members of the group work on astrobiology, for example to identify planetary analogue locations on the Earth for field research and instrumental plus methodological testing, planning and preparation of planetary missions, testing and evaluating methods in laboratories to support instrument development. We contribute as co-investigators to the HABIT instrument of the Franklin Rosalind (ExoMars) rover, in the Comet Interceptor spacecraft camera (Comet Camera, CoCa) both at the scientific and engineering levels. The research group prepared laboratory infrared reference measurements for the HERA asteroid mission (NIR and MIR ranges, with FTIR instrument). We also participate in the selection of the landing site for the NASA-ESA CP-22 mission with the PROSPECT driller and sampler laboratory onboard, analyzing the ice and various regolith characteristics that are important for landing and drilling based sampling at the target area of lunar southern polar region. Under an Italian-led EU project, the group works on the development and testing of a Mars relevant low weight drone carried ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system, designed for future Mars research, targeting the top 50-80 m deep part of the regolith. The cosmic weathering of meteorites is being simulated together with the ATOMKI institute in Debrecen, in order to help connecting the spectra of meteorites to those of their parent asteroids.
Nuclear astrophysics
The origin of the elements in stars is another research topic, which has been pursued at our institute for almost a decade via work in the field of nuclear astrophysics. We are integrated in the European nuclear astrophysics network via the EU-funded H2020 ChETEC-Infra project (and previously via the European COST ChETEC Action), and within the international community via the IReNA network, supported by the USA national Science Foundation. Our main aims are to develop and analyse computer models that allow us to both reproduce the processes of nuclear burning that affect the composition of stars, and investigate how these processes change the composition of galaxies. Our stellar models predict the abundances of the isotopes of the chemical elements at the surface and in the ejecta of stars, for example, in the winds of red giant stars and in the ejecta of supernova explosions. We use inputs from nuclear physics theory and experiments in the form of the values of the rates of nuclear reactions inside stars (at temperatures from millions to billions of degrees) and therefore collaborate closely with nuclear physicists, both nationally and internationally. For example, we are part of the LUNA collaboration, measuring nuclear reaction rates in the underground laboratory located under the Gran Sasso mountain in Italy, and we also work with the JUNA collaboration at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory and the n_TOF experiment at CERN, which measures the rates of neutron-capture reactions. We compare our stellar model predictions directly to a variety of disparate observational constraints: from spectroscopic observations of stars, for example, taken by spectrographs mounted on the ESO telescopes at La Silla (Chile), to laboratory high-precision analysis of meteoritic materials. We are particularly involved in the interpretation of the composition of some types of exotic dust grains (stardust) found in meteorites, which condensed directly in the winds of red giant stars and the ejecta of supernovae. Data/model comparisons allow us to test the validity of the models and of their nuclear physics inputs, and to provide unique constraints to the formation of our Solar System. We also model numerically the cycle of matter in galaxies, where stellar winds and supernova explosions chemically enrich the galactic interstellar medium from which new stars are born. This allows us to follow how stars and planets are enriched in the heavier chemical elements as the galaxy evolves in time.
Origins research
How and when did Earth and the other planets form? Life has been on Earth for most of its history. When did conditions suitable for the origin of life on Earth (and possibly elsewhere) become established? How is the evolution of the Geosphere connected to the evolution of the Biosphere? We are trying to answer these questions along three main themes: exoplanets, late accretion, and early Earth. The overarching aim here is to build the chemical foundations for rocky exoplanets from the core, to the mantle and crust, and into the atmosphere. To answer these kinds of questions we employ astrophysical and geological-geochemical (laboratory) methods, as well. Despite having cataloged more than 5700 exoplanets, the chemical and physical attributes of these worlds are barely known, especially for those composed of rocky material. How do the attributes of rocky planets depend on age and composition? Why is there a continuum of exoplanet sizes and densities between Earth and Neptune? Why are these exoplanets so common? What is the chemistry of their atmospheres? When we retrieve spectra for rocky exoplanet atmospheres, what will they tell us about their nteriors and geologic histories? Turning to our ouwn Solar System: there is great uncertainty surrounding the nature and timing of late accretion: the mass addition to the terrestrial planets after the Moon’s formation. What was the composition and source population of the impactors that struck the terrestrial planets? How much mass did the planets accrete late? What was the chronology of the impacts in the first 2 Gyr? What are the implications for (models of) terrestrial planet formation? Worlds like Earth form hot via accretion, differentiation, and intrinsic radioactive decay. During their cooling process the material of such planets differentiates to a core, a mantle and a crust. What is the nature of the crustal platform that gave rise to the prebiotic reactions leading to life? We do not know whether the earliest environments were ideally suited for the origin life, or just good enough. The inferred complexity for even the minimum biological entity probably means that operative and persistent life is the most difficult developmental stage to reach. Our research will bring us closer to the cosmic origin of our own species.