es2507 — Organisation Release

Beasts above and below the horizon: Do sardines dream of stars?

Kosmisches Kino on 13 March

7 February 2025

Dr Amelia Bayo (ESO) will take us on a journey above and below the coastal horizon, where we will meet beautiful "beasts" and learn to see them with new eyes. This English-language event will take place on 13 March 2025 at 19:00 in the ESO Supernova. Tickets cost 6.50 Euro each and can be booked online.

Do creatures above and below the horizon share a place in our imagination? Does a jellyfish galaxy have something to do with a jellyfish that lives in the ocean? And does a school of sardines resemble a cluster of young stars? Such questions arise when an enthusiastic zoologist talks to passionate astrophysicists and a digital illustrator transforms bizarre discussions into unique imagery.

Under the premise of Senegalese forestry engineer Baba Dioum, "In the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught", a group of five women embarked on a project. Their mission: introduce the general public to pairs of astronomical and marine "beasts" – and make them fall in love with them. Inspired by the wondrous "Bestiario del Reyno de Chile" illustrations and the "Astro Memo" game, the team created a beautifully illustrated book with key facts and curiosities about some of the most extraordinary creatures in the seas and the skies.

Kosmisches Kino is a series of events organised by the ORIGINS Excellence Cluster in cooperation with the ESO Supernova. The event on 13 March 2025 will take place in English. There will be no translation. The event in the planetarium starts at 19:00. The ESO Supernova will remain open for visitors to explore the exhibition or watch a planetarium show anytime until the beginning of the event.

More information

What is Kosmisches Kino?

Kosmisches Kino (Cosmic Cinema) takes visitors into the breathtaking depths of space. Researchers from the ORIGINS Cluster of Excellence will accompany you on your journey through the cosmos with selected excerpts from planetarium films and an associated lecture.

Sit back and marvel. Want to know more? Just ask! Kosmisches Kino events take place under the dome of the planetarium. They offer all visitors, no prior knowledge required, an atmospheric insight into the world of research and provide you with new insights. At the end of the event, the researchers answer questions from the audience.

The lecture series Kosmisches Kino is a collaboration between ESO and the ORIGINS Cluster of Excellence and presents current research topics. The ORIGINS Excellence Cluster combines astrophysics, particle physics and biophysics to investigate the formation of the Universe and the origin of life. The lectures address exciting questions that current research is investigating: Is there a common thread connecting the Big Bang with the origin of life? How do you measure radiation from space and its effect on humans? Where and how do planets and stars form? What is Dark Matter? What are the building blocks of life on Earth and do they exist elsewhere in space? These and many other questions will be addressed over the course of the event series.

Admission to the approximately one-hour-long evening event with planetarium visualisations, a live lecture and open discussion costs 6.50 Euros per person. Events are aimed at people aged 12 years and over.