Back to the Future: viewing Uranus through an ENA camera
The Voyager 2 flyby of Uranus in 1986 portrayed a magnetospheric system now viewed as the reference for an extreme, asymmetric magnetosphere in our solar system. Flying a typical ENA […]
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie
Observer et comprendre l'Univers
Who are we ?
IRAP teams work on the study and understanding of the Universe and its content: the Earth as a planet, its ionized spatial environment, the sun and its planets, the stars and their planetary systems, the interstellar environment, galaxies, compact objects, the very first stars and the primordial Big Bang.
This is done through observation, modeling and theory, instrumentation and laboratory experiments.
With a staff of technical personnel qualified in the field of design, construction, integration and operation of instruments on the ground and in space, IRAP is a major center of instrumentation in astrophysics , at an international level. He also participates in numerous national observation services (SNO) of INSU.
This Joint Research Unit (JRU 5277) is affiliated with the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paul Sabatier University – Toulouse III (UPS), and also has the supervision of the National Center for Space Studies (CNES). It is also a member of the Midi-Pyrénées Observatory (OMP).
Last news
How laboratory astrophysics can help us understanding the formation of stardust. The case of silicon carbide.
Silicon carbide is a major component of stellar dust. Experimental simulations using the Stardust machine (ICCM-Madrid) have shown that silicon carbide nanograins can form from carbon and silicon atoms, and […]
SVOM — More than 100 Gamma-ray bursts detected by ECLAIRs!
The SVOM (Space-based multi-band Variable Object Monitor) mission officially began its operational phase on April 23, 2025. The review panel for our first operational review (REVEX), held at the IAP […]
The Heterogeneity of the Martian Mantle Is Being Questioned
The structure and dynamics of the Martian mantle are still poorly understood. Recently, a team of researchers proposed that Mars’s mantle contains a large number of heterogeneities inherited from the […]
A blue aurora observed in our part of the world: a rare and revealing phenomenon
An international team comprising scientists from CNRS Terre & Univers and CNRS Physique observed an exceptional blue aurora at mid-latitudes, revealing unprecedented conditions of interaction between solar particles and the […]
The small moon Enceladus sculpts Saturn’s environment over record distances
An international scientific team, including scientists from IRAP and led by LPP, has revealed, using data from the Cassini mission, that the interaction between Saturn and its moon Enceladus is […]
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