Exciting new programme at the ESO Supernova

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.

The ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre programme changes every three months, giving visitors the chance to experience new aspects of astronomy each time they visit. The January–March programme features new additions to the exciting range of planetarium shows screened in the ESO Supernova’s state-of-the-art digital planetarium, as well as a wonderful array of special events.

With our new planetarium show Aurora: Lights of Wonder, we invite visitors to experience the wonder and majesty of the aurora in a captivating fulldome experience by South Korean director Kwon O Chul. This spectacular planetarium show delves into both the scientific and mythological significance of aurorae. Thanks to a specially developed multi-camera technology, the show immerses visitors in one of the greatest natural wonders a human can experience. The show will be available at the ESO Supernova for one month only.

The Sun, Our Living Star will continue to reveal the secrets of our star and provide visitors with never-before-seen images of the Sun’s turbulent surface in immersive fulldome format. For visitors more curious to explore our cosmic neighbours through the eyes of space probes we recommend The Planets — Expedition into the Solar System.

A special treat of this programme is the Astronomical Annual Preview 2019, a live planetarium show guiding visitors through some of the most fascinating astronomical events that will take place in 2019. This review will then be followed by regular showings of The Sky Next Month.

The exhibition LASERS | LIGHT | LIFE will remain open in the first months of 2019. Designed by the Faculty of Physics of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), this stunning display provides insights into laser technology, highlighting their use and history, and also their role in science fiction and future technologies. The exhibition also presents fascinating areas of basic research at the LMU and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching.

To see the full range of activities on offer at the ESO Supernova and to book a place at any of these exciting activities, follow this link, and explore the marvels of the Universe from here on Earth.

Starting in 2019, we are introducing paid tickets for activities that have limited places such as our planetarium shows or our guided tours. Visitors can join a planetarium show for €5 and a guided tour for €8. For our special Friday evening events, please check each event to see the ticket cost. Prices are the same for all visitors.

Tickets can be purchased online or at the ESO Supernova itself. However, we strongly recommend purchasing in advance, as our activities tend to be fully booked on the day. Our online system accepts VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Maestro. On-site, we accept cash or debit/EC and credit cards (VISA and MasterCard). Unfortunately, we are not able to provide refunds for unused tickets.

Entrance to explore our interactive exhibition on your own remains free of charge and does not require prior booking. Come directly to the ESO Supernova reception where you can get your personal free entrance ticket for the exhibition. This ticket includes a unique QR code and an individual URL.

Organised school groups will continue to enjoy our educational programme free of charge.  

More information

The ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre

The ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre is a cutting-edge astronomy centre for the public and an educational facility, located at the site of the ESO Headquarters in Garching bei München. The centre hosts the largest tilted planetarium in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and an interactive exhibition, sharing the fascinating world of astronomy and ESO to inspire coming generations to appreciate and understand the Universe around us. All content is provided in English and German. Our educational programme is free of charge. For more details visit: supernova.eso.org

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.

ESO Supernova is proudly supported by LOR Foundation, Evans & Sutherland, Sky-Skan and Energie-Wende-Garching.

KTS

The Klaus Tschira Stiftung (KTS) was created in 1995 by the physicist and SAP co-founder Klaus Tschira (1940-2015). It is one of Europe’s largest privately funded non-profit foundations. The Foundation promotes the advancement of the natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science, and strives to raise appreciation for these fields. The Foundation’s commitment begins in kindergarten and continues in schools, universities, and research facilities. The Foundation champions new methods of scientific knowledge transfer, and supports both development and intelligible presentation of research findings.

HITS

The Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS gGmbH) was established in 2010 by the physicist and SAP co-founder Klaus Tschira (1940-2015) and the Klaus Tschira Foundation as a private, non-profit research institute. HITS conducts basic research in the natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science, with a focus on the processing, structuring, and analyzing large amounts of data. The research fields range from molecular biology to astrophysics. The shareholders of HITS are the HITS Stiftung, which is a subsidiary of the Klaus Tschira Foundation, Heidelberg University and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). HITS also cooperates with other universities and research institutes and with industrial partners. The base funding of HITS is provided by the HITS Stiftung with funds received from the Klaus Tschira Foundation. The primary external funding agencies are the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the German Research Foundation (DFG), and the European Union.

ESO

ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world’s most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It has 16 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile and with Australia as a Strategic Partner. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope and its world-leading Very Large Telescope Interferometer as well as two survey telescopes, VISTA working in the infrared and the visible-light VLT Survey Telescope. ESO is also a major partner in two facilities on Chajnantor, APEX and ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT, which will become “the world’s biggest eye on the sky”.

Courtesy of European Southern Observatory