Announcements

24 April 2020: On 28 April 2020, we celebrate two years since the ESO Supernova opened its doors to the public. Our anniversary comes at a time when the centre is closed due to the current global context, but we would still like to mark the event by organising an online drawing competition. Our visitors are what makes the ESO Supernova shine and, in a time when we cannot welcome you here, we would love to discover what memories you have from your experiences with us. We invite you to colour in! If you wish to switch roles and be the ones presenting the ESO Supernova to us, then sign up for the competition! To participate, Like and Follow our Facebook Page, then download this .pdf file, print it and colour the outline of our building and also draw your impressions from your visit in the empty space. Next, post a photo of ...

31 March 2020: Applications for the ESO-supported Summer AstroCamp 2020 will open on 1 April 2020. AstroCamp is an academic programme in the field of astronomy and physics, organised by the Centre for Astrophysics of the University of Porto (CAUP), that aims to stimulate curiosity and critical thinking. The camp takes place from 9 to 23 August 2020 in a tranquil setting, away from the stresses of urban centres. The programme is intended for secondary school students from 42 different countries, including all ESO member countries, as well as Canada and the United States, in one of their final three years of education before university. The public presentation about AstroCamp 2020 took place on 22 February. The presentation video is available here. Students of all backgrounds will come together and take two courses consisting of daily lessons, assignments, and a final exam. Some further highlights include: Observing the dark night skies with the ...

28 February 2020: Considering the global spread of COVID-19, and as a purely precautionary measure, the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre in Garching, Germany, will remain closed until at least 14 July 2020, to ensure the safety of visitors and staff. The situation will be reviewed periodically, and further information will be provided. Visitors with existing bookings until 14 July: If you have bought tickets for a show until 14 July, you will receive an email in the coming days explaining how you can claim a gift voucher for a later visit. The email will be sent to the same email address you made the reservation with. Please check also your spam folder. If you have not received this email by Friday 12 June, please write to supernova@eso.org with your reservation code and the information about your booking. If you should have further questions, please email supernova@eso.org We are sorry for the ...

4 February 2020: The latest issue of the free magazine Science in School is now available online and in printed form. This European journal for science teachers offers up-to-date information on cutting-edge science, teaching materials, science education projects, interviews with inspiring scientists and teachers, reviews of books, and many other useful resources for science teachers. It aims to promote science teaching by encouraging communication between teachers, scientists and others involved in European science education. Highlights of this issue include: an article summarising the methods planet hunters use to search for planets beyond the Sun; an exploration of several theories of how life has emerged; and a presentation of the World’s fastest camera for soft X-rays in the News from EIROs section. Teaching activities include: an exciting experiment, not just for hobby detectives, in which latent fingerprints are made visible; an activity to grow plants as they would in outer space or on distant ...

16 January 2020: On Friday 21 February 2020, at 19:00, you are invited to the public talk Black Holes - The Darkest Secret of Gravity. Why does time stop at black holes? What happens to matter that falls into a black hole? Where are cosmic black holes and what are their characteristics? Find out the answers from Andreas Müller, astrophysicist and editor-in-chief of "Sterne und Weltraum". To attend the event, you should book your ticket online. Black holes are among the most enigmatic objects in the Universe. There are different types of black holes: 2019 was the year in which the first image of a supermassive black hole was published. We are more familiar with stellar black holes, created when a massive star collapses at the end of its life. A black hole combines so much mass in so little space, that even light can not escape it. Recently astronomers and gravitational wave ...

17 December 2019: On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, The Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) is organising its annual free event "Women in Astronomy" on 11 February 2020 at 19:00 at the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre. This year, the event will feature a presentation from Prof. Dr. Eva Grebel, Director of the Astronomical Computing Institute, Centre for Astronomy, University of Heidelberg on the topic of Galactic Archeology. The public talk will be delivered in the German language only. Before and after the lecture, the astronomy exhibition at the ESO Supernova will also be open to visitors, offering you the opportunity to talk to female scientists who are researching various topics in the field of astronomy. If you would like to attend, tickets are free, but you need to book a seat in advance at this link. The lecture will reveal various ways ...

11 November 2019: On 29 November 2019, Ark Noir returns to the ESO Supernova with a live concert. After a successful session in April 2019, the band is ready for another performance in the immersive environment of the planetarium. The 360-degree tilted dome will be a gateway to the Universe, during a journey like no other, on electronically-inspired beats and instrumental improvisation. Drawing inspiration from Jazz, Hip-Hop, Dub, Beatmusic and Techno, the band creates a fresh and undogmatic sound, their signature. Performing for you will be: Sax & EWI – Moritz StahlKeyboards – Sam HyltonGuitare – Tilman BrandlE-Bass – Robin JermerDrums – Marco Dufner Opening act: Delusional Circuits (Niklas Bühler) and Polygonia, two musicians who never stop exploring new possibilities within sound while developing their own creations. They use various methods to synthesise cosmic atmospheric landscapes, which take you on a vivid trip through a world of emotional depths. During the concerts, there ...

4 November 2019: On Sunday 8 December at 19.00 and 21.00, the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre invites you to come on a unique audiovisual journey through the real and virtual Universe with two performances of the concert Fragmented Future by tonelabs. Musicians Ali and Max, alias tonelabs, live in Munich and produce music which is not just a sequence of sounds, but also an attitude to life. Combining animations and videos from around the world, Fragmented Future is a musical journey that invites you to discover new dimensions. Just like candies in a candy box, each track has its own unique atmosphere, colour and mood, inviting you to experience the Universe from a new and fresh perspective. Tickets for the hour-long audiovisual show cost 20 euros. To reserve your seat and learn more about the concerts, follow this link. The ESO Supernova is hosting a range of shows, exhibitions and alternative ...

4 November 2019: The latest issue of the free magazine Science in School is now available online and in printed form. This European journal for science teachers offers up-to-date information on cutting-edge science, teaching materials and projects in science education, interviews with inspiring scientists and teachers and many other useful resources for science teachers. It aims to promote science teaching by encouraging communication between teachers, scientists and others involved in European science education. Highlights of this issue include: an article answering the question of whether plants suffer from jet lag; a look behind the scenes at one of Europe’s largest laboratories to explore the different roles that make life-changing research happen; and an overview of ESA’s space science challenges for the new school year in the News from EIROs section. Teaching activities include: a visually exciting experiment to work out the empirical formula of a chemical compound; an activity to test the effectiveness ...

2 October 2019: It seems that many of us forget to look up at the stars and see their beauty, especially those of us living in cities. Stellar Night by Stan Dart will take you on a musical journey through the Universe, combining chillout and ambient styles, soundtrack and (sometimes) dance elements. The goal? To remind you that nature is still the best artist we know. The concert takes place on 26 October inside the ESO Supernova planetarium. Only 218 tickets are available. Born in the year that NASA first landed on the Moon, Stan got involved in music as a teenager through creating mixtapes of his favourite music. As a child of the 80s, the music of this decade was formative for Stan. Songs by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Propaganda, Depeche Mode, ELO and Queen accompanied him throughout these years. During this time, Stan developed a love of soundtracks and electronic music. ...

23 August 2019: Have you ever wondered how astronomers do their research and what they investigate? What does an average day look like for an engineer, and what does it take to operate the best telescopes in the world? If you are curious to know what drew our staff to these fascinating professions then join us for Researchers’ Night at the ESO Supernova. Astronomers and engineers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) have teamed up with colleagues from the neighbouring Max Planck institutes across the Garching research campus to engage with visitors stepping through our doorway on the evening of 27 September 2019. The doors of the ESO Supernova will open at 17:30. Visitors can book a place in the planetarium to attend the German talks session from 18:00 to 19:30, or reserve a seat for the English talks session, from 20:00 to 21:30. Tickets for each of the planetarium sessions cost 5 ...

2 August 2019: The latest issue of the free magazine Science in School is now available online and in printed form. This European journal for science teachers offers up-to-date information on cutting-edge science, teaching materials and projects in science education, interviews with inspiring scientists and teachers and many other useful resources for science teachers. It aims to promote science teaching by encouraging communication between teachers, scientists and others involved in European science education. Celebrating the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements, this issue includes an insight into the women scientists who contributed to the table of chemical elements, in addition to a retrospect on how the periodic table could have looked like. In the News from EIROs section, readers are invited to follow astronaut Luca Parmitano on his expedition to the ISS. Teaching activities include: experiments to understand some of the key principles of space science; a quiz about the ...

3 July 2019: On 20 July 1969, commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle on the Moon. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface, saying the famous words “One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind”. Aldrin joined him 19 minutes later. In 2019, the world celebrates 50 years since the success of the Apollo 11 mission, and the ESO Supernova has prepared a series of activities to mark the occasion. Our staff have designed a special live planetarium show titled 1969 – The Eagle has landed that will run on this day only. Join us on a historical journey following the path of the Apollo 11 astronauts. Lean back and watch the starry sky from Tranquility Base where the Lunar Module “Eagle” landed. Hear about the pros and cons of doing astronomy from the surface of ...

10 June 2019: The ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre will be celebrating Asteroid Day on 30 June 2019, and invites you to join in with the activities. This year marks the 5th anniversary of Asteroid Day, which seeks to raise global awareness about asteroids and to support the resources necessary for further asteroid exploration. The ESO Supernova will be hosting special activities on this theme. Throughout the day, in the seminar room on the 4th floor, you will be able to watch movies and listen to short talks about asteroids, their origins and what they can teach us about the Solar System, as well as the discoveries being made by ongoing asteroid research. The exact programme for the seminar rooms can be found here. No reservation is needed for the seminar room activities but seats are limited. In the foyer area of the seminar rooms, you will also find lots more information ...

29 May 2019: Today, students from the Oskar von Miller Technical College, Meran, Italy visited the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre, bringing the total number of student visitors since the centre's inauguration to over 10 000. To mark this milestone, each student was given a gift as a memento of their visit, and the accompanying teacher received the ESO publication "The Jewel on the Mountaintop" for the school’s library. The ESO Supernova reached this milestone after just over one year of sharing astronomy and space with the public through its engaging education programme, exhibitions, public talks, and planetarium shows. Over the last 13 months, school groups from 11 different countries, among them eight ESO member states, joined the education programme. The centre places a particular emphasis on education and encourages visits from school classes, for which special activities and workshops can be arranged. Teacher training sessions at the ESO Supernova are also ...

8 May 2019: On Sunday 30 June the ESO Supernova will celebrate international Asteroid Day. On this day, we are delighted to introduce the latest planetarium show in our programme: The Amazing Adventures of Rosetta and Philae. The famous space probe Rosetta and her lander Philae will tell the story of their decade-long mission to the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The audience will travel with them through the Solar System, encountering asteroids and neighbouring planets, and learning how missions like Rosetta can teach us more about objects in space. Launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2004, Rosetta and Philae were designed to study a comet by getting closer than ever before. They accomplished this mission when, in 2014, Philae landed on Chury, sending home the first images ever taken from the surface of a comet. Now, in this adaptation of ESA’s popular cartoons about the distinguished explorers, viewers have the opportunity to experience ...

6 May 2019: The latest issue of the free magazine Science in School is now available online and in printed form. This European journal for science teachers offers up-to-date information on cutting-edge science, teaching materials, science education projects, interviews with inspiring scientists and teachers, reviews of books, and many other useful resources for science teachers. It aims to promote science teaching by encouraging communication between teachers, scientists and others involved in European science education. Some of the highlights of this issue include: an article about how highly sophisticated lasers on new satellites help to improve weather forecasting; a review of the important influence that tree canopies have on our climate; and an introduction to how to build a particle trap with 3D printers at home. Teaching activities include: creating artwork using microorganisms; identifying subatomic particles using bubble chamber photographs; and an experiment to determine the best laundry detergent for different stains. Science in ...

3 April 2019: On 26 April 2019, the planetarium at the ESO Supernova will host an evening of discovery centred around infrared radiation. The properties of infrared light, how it is observed in astronomy, areas of application and its role in everyday life, all this will be revealed through live experiments in which the audience can participate. Attendees will be introduced to the celestial objects that reveal themselves to astronomers only with the help of infrared observations, and the instruments that ESO and others have built to detect this type of radiation coming from space. The virtual trip into the stratosphere, projected onto the 14-metre-wide 360-degree planetarium dome, will introduce one of the most extraordinary observation platforms — SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy), an airborne observatory that flies in the upper stratosphere to study the infrared sky. To reserve a place at Infrared Astronomy — Objects & Observatories, on 26 April 2019, ...

11 March 2019: On 19 April 2019, the young Munich-based "electronic-jazz-collective" Ark Noir will play under the planetarium dome at the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre. The group’s original compositions, which blend synth-heavy improvisation and beats, will be accompanied by 360-degree visuals, immersing fans in a unique, cosmic experience. Inspired by artists from an eclectic mix of genres, including jazz and hip hop, the band has emerged with their own unique sound, fusing electronic beats with instrumental improvisation. The ESO Supernova Planetarium will make for an unconventional venue for this innovative young group to perform. The 360-degree dome 14 metres wide will provide an atmospheric setting in which to experience their music, promising a memorable evening for all attendees. Performing for you will be: Sax & EWI – Moritz StahlKeyboards – Sam HyltonGuitare – Tilman BrandlE-Bass – Robin JermerDrums – Marco Dufner Though young, the band members have accrued many accolades between ...

25 February 2019: Applications for the ESO-supported Summer AstroCamp 2019 will open on 1 April 2019. AstroCamp is an academic programme in the field of astronomy and physics, organised by the Centre for Astrophysics of the University of Porto (CAUP), that aims to stimulate curiosity and critical thinking. The camp takes place from 4 to 18 August 2019 in a secluded and tranquil setting, away from the stresses of urban centres. The programme is intended for secondary school students from 40 different countries, including all ESO member countries, in one of their final three years of education before university. Students of all backgrounds will come together and take two courses consisting of daily lessons, assignments, and a final exam. Some further highlights include: Observing the dark night skies with the naked eye and telescopes (including the Perseid meteor shower); Skyping with astronomers and physicists from different countries; A computational project, working with data ...