Babelsberg Starry Nights Live 2025/26
The antenna galaxies - two merging galaxies with numerious star forming regions.
Credit: ESA/HubbleAfter the summer break, the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) is once again inviting visitors to the popular Babelsberg Starry Nights Live event. Starting in October 2025, six evenings with exciting public lectures will take place on the Babelsberg campus, offering fascinating insights into modern astrophysics. From star formation to exoplanets to dark matter - visitors can look forward to a varied programme that brings science to life.
Flyer for the Live Babelsberg Starry Nights 2025/26 (pdf)
This event series is aimed at anyone interested in astronomy, regardless of prior knowledge. Researchers from the AIP will report on current topics and interesting projects from the world of astrophysics. Dr. Peter Weilbacher will start the series on Tuesday, 14 October 2025, with his lecture ‘Fire in the Nebula – A Look at the Most Luminous Star-Forming Regions in the Universe’ (in German). The event will begin at 7:15 p.m. in the conference room of the Maria Margaretha Kirch House on the AIP's Babelsberg research campus.
Star-forming regions are large clouds of gas and dust in which new stars are born. This lecture will present some of the largest and brightest star-forming regions in our cosmic neighbourhood as examples. Using images from various large telescopes, Peter Weilbacher will explain how stars are formed and when they make the surrounding gas glow most beautifully. Peter Weilbacher is a researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), he conducts research on so-called ‘starburst galaxies’ and in the field of instrument development.
Following the lecture, visitors will have the opportunity to take part in a tour of the AIP campus. If the weather is clear, we offer observations using one of the historic reflecting telescopes.
Entry is free, no registration required.
Time: Tuesday, 14. Oktober 2025, 7:15 pm
Location: Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam
All topics and dates:
- Di, 14.10.2025 um 19:15 Uhr – Dr. Peter Weilbacher: „Feuer im Nebel – Ein Blick auf die leuchtkräftigsten Sternentstehungsgebiete im Universum“
- Di, 18.11.2025 um 19:15 Uhr – Dr. Axel Schwope: „Kosmische Uhren“
- Do, 11.12.2025 um 19:15 Uhr – Dr. Ramona Augustin und Tobias Radloff: „Galaxien und Weltraumkatzen – Interdisziplinäre Sternennacht zwischen Science und Fiktion“ (Sonderveranstaltung im Rahmen der Reihe „Potsdamer Lesesalon“)
- Do, 19.02.2026 um 19:15 Uhr – Prof. Dr. Katja Poppenhäger: „Exoplaneten – Fremde Welten um ferne Sterne“
- Do, 19.03.2026 um 19:15 Uhr – Dr. Oliver Gressel: „Viel Wirbel um Sternenstaub – Strömungsmechanik der Planetenentstehung“
- Do, 16.04.2026 um 19:15 Uhr – Dr. Marcel Pawlowski: „Tanzende Galaxien, Dunkle Materie und andere kosmische Rätsel“
Further information
Webpage Babelsberger Sternenächte Live
Images
The antenna galaxies - two merging galaxies with numerious star forming regions.
Big screen size [1000 x 993, 180 KB]
Original size [4240 x 4211, 4.7 MB]
Flyer for the Live Babelsberg Starry Nights 2025/26 (pdf)
Big screen size [1000 x 1418, 1.6 MB]
Original size [1748 x 2480, 3.2 MB]
