The Thuringian State Observatory invites all astronomy fans to come visit during its Open House on Sunday, May 25th, 2025. Visitors can see the 2-meter Alfred Jensch telescope and the LOFAR radio telescope.
The gates to the observatory grounds will be open from 10 am to 5 pm. Scientists will entertain the public with guided tours and talks about their research.
A broad range of topics
Why is the Sun such a special star for us? Is it actually possible to observe northern lights in Thuringia? How do radio waves draw a map of the sky? As you can tell from these questions, the talks during Open House will cover a wide range of astronomical subjects. All talks will be in German except the talk on "Asteroseismology - The Sound of Stars".
| Time |
Topic | Speaker |
| 10:30 am - 11:15 am | Polarlicht – the Beauty and the Biest | Dr. Jochen Eislöffel |
| 11:30 am - 12:15 pm | Die Sonne - der Stern mit dem wir leben | Prof. Dr. Markus Roth |
| 12:30 pm - 1:15 pm | Der Himmel in Radiowellen: Galaxien am Ende des Universums | Prof. Heinz Andernach |
| 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm | Ein junger Stern beim Wachsen - Familienvortrag für Groß und Klein | Dr. Verena Wolf |
| 2:30 pm - 3:15 pm | Asteroseismology - The Sound of Stars (talk is in English/Vortrag auf Englisch) | Aashana Tripathi |
| 3:30 pm - 4:15 pm | Von Schwarzen Löchern und kosmischen Kollisionen | Prof. Dr. Matthias Höft |
Where to listen to the talks: All presentations will take place in the seminar room on the second floor of the administrative building (Neubau). (Access is not barrier free.)
Visit the 2-meter Alfred Jensch telescope
We will offer guided tours through the telescope building and dome every half hour between 10.15 am and 4.15 pm. During those tours, scientists will also explain how the radio telescope LOFAR and the Tautenburg Solar Laboratory work.
To coordinate the visitor flow, we will hand out tickets to the dome (free of charge). By limiting the amount of visitors per tour we make sure that it does not get too crowded in the dome and in the building. We ask for your understanding that you may have to wait a bit until your guided tour starts.
At 12.45 there will be a guided tour in English.
Special activities for kids
There will be guided tours through the dome for families at 10.45 am, 12.15 pm, 2.45 pm and 3.45 pm. Kids can also paint their own pictures of the night sky. And we will explain to our young visitors how a telescope works with our "Tautenburg Tiny Telescope".
More Highlights:
Live observation with the radio telescope: The radio astronomy team will show our visitors how the LOFAR radio telescope works.
Tautenburg Solar Laboratory: We explain how we learn more about our Sun by using the Tautenburg Solar Laboratory.
A few practical details:
Unfortunately, the dome and the buildings are not barrier free.
The entrance to the Open House event is free of charge, a reservation is not necessary. Group size (per guided tour) to visit the dome with its 2 meter telescope is limited to 70 visitors due to limited space. In order to avoid that too many people are in the dome at the same time, (free) tickets for the tours will be handed out right in front of the dome. We appreciate the interest in the 2-meter telescope and ask for your understanding that you may have to wait a bit until your guided tour starts.
You can buy food and drinks, coffee and cake during Open House.
We are looking forward to your visit on May 25th, 2025!