Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
German research institute
The Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie) is located in Bonn, Germany. It is one of 80 institutes in the Max Planck Society (German: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft). 50°43′47.6″N 7°4′9.2″E
History
By combining the already existing radio astronomy faculty of the University of Bonn led by Otto Hachenberg with the new Max Planck institute, the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy was formed. In 1972 the 100-m radio telescope in Effelsberg was opened. The institute building was enlarged in 1983 and 2002.
The southern wing of the whole complex is occupied by the Argelander Institute of Astronomy of the University of Bonn.
Research Focus
The main field of work at the institute is radio astronomy. Theoretical astrophysics is another major area of focus. Other fields of research conducted at the MPIfR include:
Star Formation and Galaxy Evolution (Astrochemistry, Star Formation, Galactic Surveys etc.)
Fundamental Physics in Radio Astronomy (γ-Ray Pulsars, Theories of Gravity, Cosmic Magnetism, Pulsar Surveys, Neutron Stars etc.)
Structure
The Institute has three main research groups, each with its own Director
Departments
Fundamental Physics (Michael Kramer)
Star Formation and Galaxy Evolution (Amélie Saintonge)
VLBI and Radio Astronomy (Anton Zensus)
Independent Research Groups
Lise Meitner Group on Fast Radio Bursts as Astrophysical Tools (Laura Spitler)
Graduate Program
The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Astronomy and Astrophysics is a highly competitive-entry graduate program offering a Ph.D. The school is run in cooperation with the University of Bonn and University of Cologne.
“Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy” enters the record as german research institute. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Planck, Institute and Radio can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q543646. VIAF identifies the subject as 134963122. The Library of Congress control number is n87847506. Authority coordinates are 50.730, 7.070. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1972, 1983 and 2002.
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This entry incorporates text from “Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.