Tuesday 20 October

Stargazing at the Oldehove

The Oldehove was once built to touch the sky. On Tuesday, October 20, we are bringing the stars closer instead. Climb the tower, look through a telescope, and discover the autumn sky above Leeuwarden during a special stargazing evening – and you can be there!

This evening, we will feast our eyes: weather permitting, we will admire our nearest neighbor in space: the Moon, where craters, mountain ranges, and vast plains are visible in sharp detail. Afterwards, we will point the telescope at Saturn, where we might even see its remarkable rings and its largest moon, Titan. Moreover, around this time of year, the Earth crosses the dust trail of the famous Halley's Comet. As a result, there is a small chance that we will see an Orionid: a shooting star formed when a tiny dust particle from Halley's burns up at high speed in our atmosphere.

But we look even further. We compare our own sun to the stars twinkling above us and ultimately turn our gaze to the Andromeda Galaxy. At a distance of approximately 2,5 million light-years, it is the most distant object visible from Earth with the naked eye. An evening full of discoveries, from our cosmic backyard to far beyond the Milky Way, and all from our familiar Oldehove.

The evening begins at 8:00 PM. At 8:15 PM, there is a presentation on the first floor; half an hour later, when it is completely dark, we will go to the roof for stargazing until approximately 9:30 PM. This event is organized by Natuurmuseum Fryslân in collaboration with the Observeum in Burgum.

Unfortunately, this event is fully booked! You can always email for a waiting list spot or wait for the next edition! 

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