Blaauw Lecture

The Andromeda spiral galaxy, also known as Messier 31, is the closest large galaxy to our own Milky Way. It is one of a few galaxies that is identifiable with the naked eye.

Nearly 500 years ago, Nicolas Copernicus published his disruptive theory that Earth is not the center of the universe.

Understanding the nature of the first stars and the first population of black holes at cosmic dawn is one of most ambitious goals for modern astrophysics.

Our solar system was born from a dark and cold cloud made out of gas and small dust particles.

At the very center of most galaxies, including the Milky Way, lurk massive black holes, with masses from a few tens of thousands to several billions of solar masses.