Gauss-Telegraph: Excursion to the observatory

 

Gauss-Telegraph: Excursion to the observatory

Just because the dark, colder part of the year has commenced does not mean one has to confine himself/herself inside their own four walls. The Gauss Friends set a good example on Thursday, the 29th of November, and made their way to the observatory in Braunschweig-Hondelage despite the rain. The 18-member international group used the short travel time to get to know each other.

The Sternfreunde Braunschweig-Hondelage e.V. was founded in 1984 by nine astronomy-loving friends. They initiated the construction of the observatory in Hondelage 12 years after establishing the association.

After arriving at the observatory the visitors glanced into the universe through videos and photos, taken by the members of the observatory. The presentation was enriched by exciting information about the universe and we learned that stars are best visible when you are at the highest possible location, as there is less earth atmosphere that degrades the view of the universe. In addition, there should be minimum humidity (ideal would be a desert), little or no clouds and the curious stargazers should be far away from civilization (as there is too much light in the cities). The Harz national park would be quite well suited, said a member of the Sternfreunde.

Manoj (28) from India is thrilled with the visit to the observatory. He is particularly impressed by the fact that the telescope captures 10,000 times more light than the human eye, which makes more stars visible in the sky. In addition, he did not know that every season makes a different constellation visible and that you can determine the different seasons based on it.

After the presentation everyone was shown the centerpiece – the telescope. Unfortunately, the sky remained cloudy and the dome was not opened.

Elif (22) from Turkey is currently doing her Erasmus semester in Germany and is interested in everything that happens in the universe. She had also visited a larger observatory in Turkey earlier and she finds it fascinating to observe stars, sun and moon etc. in space.

Naveen (26) from India was very sad about the sky being overcast and you could not see the stars. He imagines how beautiful it must be in summer to watch the stars on a summer’s night.

For all those who want to observe the stars through a professional telescope, the observatory is open for the public on the second Tuesday of every month from 7pm onwards. More information can be found on www.sternenwarte-braunschweig.de.

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