Dear visitors and supporters,

What a year 2023 has been! The ESO Supernova has welcomed almost 60 000 visitors, and delivered over 680 planetarium shows, 142 guided tours, 46 school workshops, 4 concerts, 3 temporary exhibitions and 2 public talks. We are already looking forward to 2024 and making plans for more exciting activities, like a public talk in February and a concert in March.

Perhaps you’re looking for some gifts to buy your loved ones for Christmas at this time of year. In this case, we’d like to remind you of our online ESO shop, where you can buy the 2024 ESO Calendar, beautiful astronomical images, and merchandise, like this bag made from recycled plastic bottles. Please note that when buying items meant as Christmas gifts in our online shop, we recommend placing your orders by 17 December at the very latest. We can’t make guarantees on behalf of Deutsche Post about the delivery date, but our team will be processing online shop orders until 16:00 on 21 December 2023. Order processing will recommence only on 8 January 2024. Of course, you can also buy products in the ESO Supernova shop during our standard opening hours, until 17:00 on Friday 22 December 2023.

The ESO Supernova will close from 17:00 on Friday 22 December and reopen on Wednesday 31 January 2024, as we carry out maintenance work and implement changes that will improve the experience for our visitors. You can read more about these improvements in the press release. Our programme for the first half of 2024 is online and bookable now.

Many thanks for all your support throughout 2023. We wish you and your loved ones a very pleasant winter and holiday season. We look forward to welcoming you in 2024!
Tania Johnston
Head of ESO Supernova

  ESO Supernova Press Releases

The new year brings exciting changes at the ESO Supernova — Bookings for our activities until July 2024 are now open 15 December 2023: The ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre will be closed from Saturday 23 December until Tuesday 30 January 2024 as we carry out maintenance work and implement changes that will ...

Become our next Events Coordinator — Join our international team at our vibrant planetarium and visitor centre in the heart of Bavaria 1 December 2023: We are seeking a talented and motivated individual to support our exciting programme of events at the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre. If this sounds like you, send us ...

Our largest eye in space — Exhibition on the James Webb Space Telescope is coming to Garching for Wissenschaftsjahr 2023! 1 December 2023: Since mid-2022, the James Webb Space Telescope has been providing fascinating images from the depths of space, from distant star-forming regions to even more distant galaxies. Now the new space ...

  ESO Supernova Announcements

A public talk on the James Webb Space Telescope to celebrate Women in Astronomy — the event is organised by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics to mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 15 December 2023: 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 ...

Read more