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World's largest radio telescope gets its own legal form

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The Low Frequency Array - LOFAR - is the world's largest radio telescope for measuring short and ultra-short radio waves from space. Together with the Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ), the Ruhr University Bochum operates a LOFAR antenna field close to the FZJ. Furthermore, RAPP member Prof. Ralf-Jürgen Dettmar played a key role in the founding of the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT). Due to the Europe-wide importance of LOFAR, the European Commission has decided to give the telescope, which was previously organized as a project, an independent legal form: From January 22, 2024, the consortium was transformed into a European research infrastructure consortium (short: ERIC). This reinforces the great importance of LOFAR for cutting-edge astronomical research.