On May 8, 2025, an official meeting and signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Space Research and Technologies Institute of BAS and the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL) - a leading Chinese center in the field of deep space research - was held at the building of SRTI-BAS. The event was attended by representatives of DSEL, including Yu Jike (Deputy Director), Shi Meng (Regional Manager) and Zhang Zhongliang (Regional Manager), as well as representatives of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Bulgaria - Ning Yongpeng (Second Secretary for Science and Technology) and Guo Dacheng (Second Secretary and Cooperation Coordinator). During the meeting, the leading research and priorities of both institutions were presented with a focus on: lunar missions [...]

Eight countries are now members of the European Radio Astronomy Research Consortium Infrastructure Sweden and the UK are the new members of LOFAR ERIC (LOFAR European Radio Telescope Research Infrastructure Consortium) following a Council Decision of March 2025. This brings the total membership to eight countries, marking an important milestone in the development of this innovative research infrastructure. Bulgaria, together with Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland, are the founding members of LOFAR ERIC. LOFAR is a pan-European project involving 52 antenna stations for observing the Universe in eight countries: the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Expansion with additional stations in Italy and Bulgaria is underway in 2026. LOFAR ERIC provides transparent access to a wide range of [...]

"Astronomy & Astrophysics” publishes the results of an international team of scientists with leading Bulgarian participation The Institute of Astronomy with the NAO-BAS has identified the study of magnetic activity in the red giant star RZ from the constellation Aries (RZ Ari) due to the engulfment of a planet as its most significant scientific achievement for 2024. The results obtained by the team with Bulgarian lead researcher Prof. Dr. Renada Konstantinova-Antova and four other Bulgarian scientists were published in the prestigious European journal "Astronomy & Astrophysics" 681, A36, 2024. In addition to the five Bulgarians, the team includes researchers from France, USA, Brazil and Chile. By investigating the causes of RZ Ari's magnetic activity, scientists found that this star evolved to the tip of the [...]

Bulgaria's first polar astronomical project will take place in 2024-2025. "Impact of solar activity on ionospheric dynamics and high-energy particle fluxes over Antarctica" is the title of the first Bulgarian polar astronomical research project which will be carried out in 2024-2025 on the territory of the Bulgarian Antarctic Base on Livingston Island. The team of scientists from the Institute of Astronomy with NAO at BAS, the Technical University - Sofia and the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy which will work on its implementation is headed by Associate Professor Dr. Kamen Kozarev. The research project has been approved in the competition for funding of polar research of the National Centre for Polar Studies at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski”. Research on the Sun and solar activity is [...]