Press Releases

2 December 2019: As we carry out maintenance work and take some time to prepare for the year ahead, the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre will be closed during the first month of the New Year. We will reopen on Saturday 1 February 2020 and look forward to welcoming our visitors.

14 November 2019: This winter, the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre has a special addition to its programme: the show Enlightening Time Travel. Screening only 4 times during the month of December, the show takes you on a journey to the extremes of space, time, and energy, offering answers to questions such as: How did ancient cultures experience the impressive night sky? How did this impression change with the advent of the European Southern Observatory’s most advanced telescopes? Which stories were told back then, and which ones are today? During the one-hour planetarium show, settle down to wonder at the quiet sense of magic of the Universe, as it was felt thousands of years ago by ancient cultures and religions and as it is revealed now by the astronomers and engineers of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). This special planetarium show will be shown between 1 and 22 December 2019. To reserve ...

12 November 2019: Reservations are now open for the ESO Supernova planetarium shows happening during the first half of 2020.

30 September 2019: The newest addition to the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre’s programme, the show Out There — The Quest for Extrasolar Worlds, invites you to discover humanity’s quest for life on other planets, as we try to understand whether life in the Universe is the norm or the exception. Are you curious to learn how science caught up with fiction, what planets we first explored and how we discover new extrasolar planets nowadays? Then book your place at a show starting on 28 October 2019, in either German or English.

21 May 2019: The ESO Supernova team has published the schedule of planetarium shows through the end of the year 2019. Visitors interested in coming to our centre in the next seven months can now book their planetarium tickets online.

13 March 2019: ESO will host the 2019 IAU Astronomy Education Conference on 16–18 September 2019 at the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre. The conference will bring together astronomers, astronomy education researchers, and education practitioners to further the IAU’s commitment to improving the quality, quantity, community, and impact of astronomy education research and practice. Hosting this conference will leverage the ESO Supernova’s standing as a cutting-edge astronomy education centre offering a diverse educational programme to school children, kindergartners, and teachers. Conference attendees will be able to fully explore the Supernova’s activities, including workshops, tours, and over 2200 m2 of interactive exhibits, as well as the largest tilted planetarium dome in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The conference will focus on three main themes: astronomy education research; astronomy education standards, curriculum and instruction; and primary and secondary teacher education. These themes will be covered in talks, posters and workshops. The topics will be examined ...

26 February 2019: Over the past few months, the ESO Supernova team has been preparing the latest programme of exciting events and shows for the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre. We are delighted to announce that our April–June 2019 programme is now available for booking online.

11 January 2019: Since it opened in April 2018, the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre has shared the wonders of the Universe with more than 55 000 visitors and captured the attention of audiences from around the globe. Now, the ESO Supernova’s extensive library of high-resolution images, stunning videos, educational texts and planetarium resources, as well as a digital version of its state-of-the-art astronomical exhibition, have been made freely available online.

3 December 2018: Our January–March 2019 programme for the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre is now available online, and the exciting lineup of activities and shows for this period can be booked online. Starting with the first quarter of 2019, visitors wishing to book a place at a planetarium show or guided tour, or attend a public event, will have to purchase a ticket. Entrance to the exhibition and our educational programme remain free of charge.

6 September 2018: ESO is proud to announce a brand new addition to its collection of free high-quality planetarium materials produced by world-renowned astrophotographers, artists, technicians and musicians. The Sun, Our Living Star tells the story of our nearest star — our planet’s powerhouse, the source of energy that drives Earth’s winds and weather, and the ball of light that allows the very existence of life. The Sun, Our Living Star will be shown in the planetarium of the ESO Supernova from 7 September and is also available to download for free from the ESO website.

3 September 2018: The ESO Supernova team have been working hard to prepare the final programme for 2018, which includes exciting events and shows for our Planetarium & Visitor centre. We are delighted to announce that our October–December programme is now available online. Featuring the latest ESO Supernova activities, the programme contains all you need to know about our forthcoming planetarium shows, guided tours and educational workshops. It also features special public events such as science talks, and much more.

11 July 2018: Over the past months, the ESO Supernova team has been preparing an amazing new programme of exciting events and shows for our Planetarium & Visitor centre. We are delighted to announce that our July–September programme is now available online and in print. Featuring the latest ESO Supernova activities, the programme contains all you need to know about our forthcoming planetarium shows, guided tours and educational workshops. It also features special public events such as science talks, concerts and much more.

14 June 2018: ESO is proud to announce the release of Europe to the Stars, a brand new open-source planetarium show that tells the story of ESO’s exploration of the southern sky. This stunning movie takes viewers on an epic journey behind the scenes of the most productive ground-based observatory in the world. Europe to the Stars will be part of the programme at the ESO Supernova from Friday 22 June and will also be available to download for free from the ESO website from 1 August.

17 May 2018: From 17 May to 2 September 2018, the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre will display it’s first temporary exhibition — Our Place in Space. This small free-of-charge showcase of art and science is inspired by the spectacular images of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and encourages visitors to consider where humanity fits into the grand scheme of the Universe. Works from eleven Italian artists are presented to provide a unique view of the Universe and our place within it.

11 May 2018: The cutting-edge ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre provides unforgettable learning experiences for students of all ages. Engaging workshops, tours and two new educational planetarium shows all capture the night sky’s incredible ability to inspire a love for science in young people. All educational activities are available free of charge.

27 April 2018: On 26 April 2018, the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre was officially inaugurated, and its doors will be open to the public from tomorrow 28 April 2018. The centre, located at ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany provides visitors with an immersive experience of astronomy in general, along with ESO-specific scientific results, projects, and technological breakthroughs. All activities in the ESO Supernova will be free of charge during 2018, and shows and other events can be booked online.

21 March 2018: Over the past months, the ESO Supernova team has been keenly working on the preparation of the programme for the exciting new planetarium and visitor centre, due to open to the public on 28 April 2018. We are delighted to announce that the programme is now available online. The programme contains lots of information about the range of planetarium shows, guided tours and educational workshops offered by the ESO Supernova. It also features special public events such as science talks, concerts and much more. The programme allows you to click on each show, tour or event to find out more information and to book your place. In 2018 all activities are free, but bookings are necessary. To explore the exhibition on your own, you do not need a booking, but just to get a free entrance ticket when you arrive. After booking, tickets can be printed using the ESO Supernova ...

6 July 2017: ESO is proud to announce the release of the English version of Mayan Archaeoastronomy: Observers of the Universe, a brand new open-source planetarium show exploring six different Mayan archaeological sites and their connection to the Universe. The 20-minute show, produced by Frutos Digitales in collaboration with ESO and financed by the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico, premiered in Spanish at the Cha’an Ka’an Planetarium in Cozumel on 20 March 2017. This is the first show fully animated for fulldome made in Mexico, and it will be distributed freely to the more than 30 planetariums in Mexico as well as internationally through ESO’s online distribution network. Mayan Archaeoastronomy: Observers of the Universe is unique among planetarium shows, intertwining science and mythology to take the viewer on a poetic journey through how the Mayans have viewed and understood the Universe throughout their history. The story is populated with vivid ...

27 April 2017: ESO is proud to publicly launch a running version of the cutting-edge Data2Dome project in partnership with Evans & Sutherland and the International Planetarium Society . This exciting new free system for planetariums delivers the complete collection of images and videos from ESO's frontline telescopes at La Silla and Paranal, as well as from ALMA, ESA/Hubble — and through NASA’s and IPAC’s Astropix project: NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory, GALEX, WISE, and NuStar, as well as ESA’s Planck and Herschel space telescopes. Data2Dome also delivers stunning fulldome images and videos, 3D models and music, as well as the latest press releases and blogs from all astronomy and space organisations worldwide, all at the click of a mouse — and for free! Data2Dome’s AstroCalendar module provides daily feeds of significant astronomical events such as spacecraft launches, planetary alignments, historical anniversaries and more. Astronomy is a dynamic discipline, with spectacular ...

10 October 2016: Evans & Sutherland (E&S) has signed a three-year partnership agreement with ESO as a Constellation Partner in the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre. Having developed advanced computer graphical technologies for over forty years, E&S was the world’s first computer graphics company, and now specialises in a world-leading digital planetarium system, Digistar. The ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre is a cooperation between the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS). The building is a donation from the Klaus Tschira Stiftung (KTS), a German foundation, and ESO runs the facility. Through their collaboration with ESO, E&S will be providing this cutting-edge planetarium technology for use in the forthcoming ESO Supernova, and will be the first to receive daily astronomy news and data directly from research carried out in observatories around the world through the Data2Dome project. Data2Dome, which ESO is spearheading with support from the ...