The Twin Paradox and its resolution

Lecture in English

Boris Lohner (Munich Public Observatory)

Friday, 21 March 2025, 8 p.m.
Venue: Volkssternwarte München, Rosenheimer Str. 145h

Explanations of the twin paradox sometimes give the impression that special relativity is defective and that this „defect“ requires general relativity to be „repaired“ – or give the impression that time dilation is not real but a mere effect of observation. In this talk it is shown how the twin paradox can be resolved in a consistent way while staying within special relativity.

From Dust to Giants: Planet formation in our Solar system and abroad

Lecture in English by Dr. Alexander Cridland (USM, LMU)

Friday, 28 February 2025, 8 p.m.
Venue: Volkssternwarte München, Rosenheimer Str. 145h

The birth and early growth of planets, often called their ‚formation‘, involves a wide range of physical processes that turns the tiniest grain of dust to the largest planets we can find. In this lecture I will take you through these processes as we build up planetary systems, including ours, from the material leftover from long dead stars. These models of planet formation have been developing for over 50 years but it was the last 10-20 years that has seen important, data-driven breakthroughs thanks to the discovery of the first planets outside our Solar system. The characterization of these extra-solar planets (or exoplanets for short) have allowed for the first statistical studies of planet formation as we try to recreate the population of known exoplanetary systems. These studies not only teach us about the underlying physics that lead to the growth of planets outside our Solar system, but helps us understand our own place in the cosmos.

Colloquium – Let´s talk Astrophysics

moderated by Dr. Ioannis Kamaretsos (Volkssternwarte München)

Tuesday, 11. March 2025, 6:30pm
Volkssternwarte München, Rosenheimer Str. 145h, 81671 München

This is a reoccuring colloquium, on advanced topics in Astrophysics and relevant philosophical concepts.
Let us have a discussion group, dealing with important scientific discoveries as well as with open problems, yet without going into historical aspects.
Special attention will be paid to publications that have paved the path to modern Physics and Astrophysics, such as those by A. Einstein, A. Eddington, H. Poincaré, R. Penrose, R.H. Dicke, V. Rubin, S. Chandrasekhar, and others.

Second topic: The path from Special Theory of Relativity to Einsteinian Gravity

 
Image: handmadewriting

Free entry
Advance booking recommended; limited number of seats.

Our Astrochemical Origins – Canceled

Lecture in English

by Prof. Dr. Paola Caselli  (Max-Planck-Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics)

Friday, 15 November 2024, 8 p.m.
All tickets remain valid. You can cancel your tickets free of charge.
We will inform you by e-mail when the rescheduled date with Prof. Dr. Casselli is fixed.
Venue: Volkssternwarte München, Rosenheimer Str. 145h

Our Solar System was born from a dark and cold cloud made out of gas and small dust particles. Thanks to powerful telescopes, we can now study in detail these clouds, their chemical ingredients, and their evolution toward stars and planets. We can then reconstruct our origins. In this lecture, I’ll present a journey through space and time starting from interstellar clouds and ending in our Solar System. The dawn of organic molecules, the formation of stars and planets, and the first steps towards life will be unveiled.

Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Planetary Exploration

Lecture in English by Paul Salazar (Munich Public Observatory)

Friday, 8 November 2024, 8 p.m.
Venue: Volkssternwarte München, Rosenheimer Str. 145h

English Halloween lecture – costumes welcome!!

Spooky Astronomy

by Paul Salazar (Munich Public Observatory)

Thursday, 31 October 2024, 8 p.m.
Volkssternwarte München, Rosenheimer Str. 145h, 81671 München

A faint nebula that looks like a skull, a supernova remnant like a monster jumping right at you, galaxies in the shape of a mysterious cartwheel, UFOs that the US Military cannot explain, signals from space that make you say ‚Wow!‘ – and what about faces on Mars and Jupiter’s ghost?
Lots of spooky things going on in the universe: right above your head… or rather below your feet?

Tickets : €10 / €7
Admission from 7:45 p.m.
Number of seats is limited. Advance booking required.
Please make your booking in good time.

SOLD OUT – Science from spaceflight: What have we learnt from crewed space missions?

Lecture in English

Dr. Amelia Fraser-McKelvie (The University of Western Australia)

Friday, 20 September 2024, 8 p.m.
Venue: Volkssternwarte München, Rosenheimer Str. 145h

From the moment Yuri Gagarin blasted into space in 1961, crewed spaceflight has captured the imagination of the world. Along with the massive technological advances required to make human spaceflight possible, crewed space missions have conducted a plethora of science experiments to advance the knowledge of humankind. Fields as diverse as biology, geophysics, medicine, and astronomy have benefited from experiments performed by astronauts in microgravity. I will summarise some of the most interesting science experiments that have taken place from the early days of the space race, through to cutting-edge research taking place today.

Credits: NASA

Once in a lifetime star explosion: T Coronae Borealis

Lecture in English

Dr. Ioannis Kamaretsos (Munich Public Observatory)

Friday, 12 July 2024, 8 p.m.
Venue: Volkssternwarte München, Rosenheimer Str. 145h

T Corona Borealis is a well-known binary star system in which luminous explosions have occurred twice in the last two hundred years. These explosions, known as nova outbursts, are thought to occur at regular intervals. It is predicted that anytime this year it will go from its current very low brightness to an outburst visible to the naked eye, roughly equaling the apparent brightness of Polaris. In this talk we will discuss the nature of this phenomenon, the physical properties of the system, the accuracy of the prediction as well as how it can be observed. Following the lecture, we will use the telescopes on the roof to observe the early summer constellations. Tips will be given on how to quickly detect the nova, should it occur.

Lecture by Dr. Markos Skoulatos (TU Munich) – in English

Friday, 7 June 2024, 8 p.m.

Without any doubt, the oldest computer of mankind, known as the Antikythera Mechanism, is the greatest technological achievement of antiquity. A century was necessary in order to reveal its secrets. What is it though, that inspires until now four generations of scientists?
In this talk, we will navigate from its discovery by sponge divers, up to the latest word of modern technology in order to solve its puzzle. I will analyse its functions, epicyclic and differential gearings, the indications it gives us and how to read them. We will see how astronomy, mathematics and engineering, all come together at a small portable mechanical device. At the end, there will be an opportunity to see from close my real model reconstruction. Our purpose is to familiarise with this “mysterious” construction as well as to individually discover what it is that inspires, still, despite 2 millennia from its original construction.

More info: http://www.eternalgadgetry.com

Lecture by Dr. E. Bianchi (Vera Rubin Fellow at the Excellence Cluster ORIGINS) – in English

Friday, 12 April 2024, 8 p.m.

How did our planet form? Why is there life on Earth? Each of us has asked these questions at least once in our lifetime. Planets are the product of a cosmic recipe that begins with a cold and dark cloud and ends with a star and its planetary system. As of today, astronomers detected more than 5000 planets orbiting around stars that are not our own Sun. Although we are still not able to detect evidences of life on other planets, upcoming space missions will make it achievable in the near future. Terrestrial life is based on relatively small molecules containing carbon atoms, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen.
During the presentation, I will talk about the origins and formation of organic molecules in space and discuss their potential role in seeding life on a young Earth.