Experience astronomical research and see the starry sky from a new perspective during the “Long Night of the Stars” at the Thüringer Landessternwarte in Tautenburg on October 3, 2026. This free event features many highlights: Visitors can tour a station of LOFAR, the world’s largest radio telescope, and learn how it is used to study distant galaxies. You’ll get to know the Tautenburg Solar Laboratory, where a prototype for continuous observation of the Sun is being developed. And you’ll have the opportunity to see our 2-meter Alfred Jensch optical telescope in action. Visitors can observe celestial objects themselves using portable telescopes -- weather permitting.
The Long Night of the Stars begins on October 2, 2026, at 5 p.m. and lasts until midnight. Visitors can look forward to a varied and entertaining program featuring exciting lectures, interesting guided tours, and fascinating stargazing sessions.
Talks and Presentations
The lectures explore a wide variety of phenomena in the universe, such as: What does the Sun have to do with space weather and the aurora? What happens when one star accretes mass from another star? Are Earth-like planets as common as sand on the beach? The talks are in German. There will be one talk in English at 8.30 pm.
| When? | Topic | |
| 17.30 Uhr bis 18.00 Uhr | Die Sonne - der Stern mit dem wir leben | Prof. Dr. Markus Roth |
| 18.30 Uhr bis 19.00 Uhr | Das Universum, beobachtet mit Radiowellen – oder: Von Schwarzen Löchern und kosmischen Kollisionen | Prof. Dr. Matthias Hoeft |
| 19.30 Uhr bis 20.00 Uhr | Polarlicht – the Beauty and the Beast | Dr. Jochen Eislöffel |
| 20.30 Uhr bis 21.00 Uhr | Stellar beats: the music of the cosmos (Vortrag auf Englisch) | Aashana Tripathi |
| 21.30 Uhr bis 22.00 Uhr | Kannibalismus im Weltall: Wenn Doppelsterne zu Novae werden | Dr. habil. Veronika Schaffenroth |
| 22:30 Uhr bis 23.00 Uhr | Gibt es Erden wie Sand am Meer? | Dr. Eike Guenther |
Location: All presentations will take place in the seminar room on the top floor of the administration building (“Neubau”).
Please pick up your free ticket for a presentation in advance at the information desk.
Visit the 2-Meter-Alfred-Jensch-Telescope
From 5:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., guided tours of the 2-meter Alfred Jensch Telescope will be offered every half hour. During the tour live images from the telescope will be displayed. The first three tours are specifically for children.
To manage the flow of visitors into the dome, admission tickets for the guided tours will be available outside the dome. This will allow as many people as possible to participate in a tour of the dome while ensuring that no more than 70 visitors are inside the dome at any one time.
More Highlights
If the sky is clear, we and our colleagues from the Volkssternwarte Urania Jena e.V. will set up telescopes behind the dome building so that visitors can take a look at planets and other celestial objects for themselves.
We’ll also be exploring the night sky with the naked eye. At 8 p.m., 9 p.m., and 10 p.m., astronomers will be explaining constellations on the lawn behind the dome. This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to learn more about the wonders of the night sky. The dark sky above Tautenburg is perfect for this! Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it won’t be cloudy or rainy!
We’ll explain live observations using our LOFAR radio telescope, demonstrate how observations are conducted at the Tautenburg Solar Laboratory, and describe the goals of solar research in Tautenburg.
A few practical tips
- Admission to the Long Night of the Stars is free; no advance registration is required.
- The dome and the grounds are not wheelchair accessible.
- Please dress appropriately for the season and the weather. You’ll appreciate warm clothing, especially inside the dome building, but also when observing the sky outdoors.
- Please pick up your free ticket for the tour of the Alfred Jensch Telescope in front of the dome building. We are delighted that so many people are interested in touring the telescope. Please be prepared that you may have to wait a short while before your guided tour begins.
- Please pick up a free ticket for the talks at the information booth across from the administration building. This will help us better coordinate the flow of visitors and ensure that everything runs smoothly, so that as many guests as possible can attend a talk. Thank you very much for your cooperation!
- Refreshments will be available on the observatory grounds so you can enjoy a bite to eat before or after stargazing.
We look forward to seeing you on October 3, 2026!