2024-05-01 06:38:24
It is approaching the beginning of May Eta Aquariid shooting star stream the earth. Most meteors are likely to be seen on the night of May 5-6. The nights before the chances weren’t bad either, but following this date the activity falls quickly, says the chairman of the Stjernevennerforeningen based in Bensheim in South Hesse, Uwe Pilz.
Eta Aquariids are broken fragments of Halley’s comet. These are fast meteors that enter the Earth’s atmosphere at around 65 kilometers per second. Aquarians seem to come from the constellation Aquarius, hence their name. Since the constellation only appears on the southeastern horizon at the end of the night, observations only then make sense, advises Pilz. Anyway, moonlight isn’t bothering us at the top this year.
And you can also avoid the city’s light pollution at selected locations in Berlin and the surrounding area. Where the view of the sky in Berlin and Brandenburg is particularly beautiful, we reveal here.
Sternenpark Westhavelland
Westhavelland Star Park is one of the areas with the least light pollution in Germany. Stephan Schulz/imagobroker/imago
One of Germany’s four officially recognized star parks are only around 70 kilometers west of Berlin in Westhavelland nature park. Stjerneparken is 1,380 square kilometers in size and includes the entire Westhavelland nature park in Brandenburg and the municipality of Schollene in Saxony-Anhalt. There is no fence around the area, so the park can be accessed from anywhere. According to Stjernepark Westhavelland support association, the northern half is particularly dark. In the park, the association recommends nine places to stay, ten observation points and the five highest points where you can be particularly close to the stars.
Sternenpark Westhavelland More information here
Wuhletal hiking trail in Marzahn-Hellersdorf
Perseid showers in August in the Berlin area. With a bit of luck, you can experience a similar view in Wuhletal. 7current/image
The ubiquitous light pollution usually obscures the view of the Berlin sky so much that one can at most see a few isolated, particularly bright stars. A little darker, but without too many trees in the field of vision, is around the Wuhletal hiking trail Marzahn-Hellersdorf. Wuhletal is the longest green area in Berlin, the hiking trail starts at the Ahrensfelde S-Bahn station and leads through the Wuhleta meadows to the baroque Köpenick Castle. Until the 1980s, Berlin used Wuhle primarily as a sewer. The Gardens of the World and Kienberg with its viewing platform close in the evening. Other high points are on the Ahrensfelder mountains (114.5 and 101 meters high) and Biesdorfer Höhe (82 meters high).
Wuhletal hiking trail Start: Ahrensfelde S-Bahn station, destination: Köpenick S-Bahn station
Archenhold Observatory in Treptower Park
Archenhold Observatory is located in the middle of Berlin, in Treptower Park. Christian Behring/Pop-Eye/imago
Archenhold Observatory i Treptow Park comes with superlatives. It is the largest and oldest public observatory in Germany. Their giant telescope, built in 1896 and with a focal length of 21 meters, is the longest movable refracting telescope in the world. Since the opening, the purpose has been to convey astronomical knowledge to the general public. Albert Einstein gave his first public lecture on the general theory of relativity here in 1915. During guided tours of “Night at the Observatory” on Saturdays and Sundays, you can observe star clusters, galaxies and double stars. Anyone who comes during the day can see the tube and visit the adjacent museum and the Zeiss small planetarium. The Archenhold Observatory will be closed from April 22nd to May 24th for technical work.
Archenhold Observatory Alt-Treptow 1, Treptow, observation nights: 9.50 euros, reduced 7.50 euros, ticket office opens half an hour before the start, further information here
The Wilhelm Foerster Observatory in Schöneberg
Berlin does not have many surveys. The Wilhelm Foerster observatory is located on one of them, the islander. Schöning/image
Although at the south end of Schöneberg, but in the middle of the city, on one of Berlin’s hills, Insulaner, is the Wilhelm Foerster observatory. Their telescope, the “Bamberg refractor”, was created in 1889 by the Carl Bamberg company in Friedenau for the then newly founded Urania. With the Bamberg refractor you can look at the sky during the day. Then you can see the moon, bright fixed stars, the planet Venus and the sun. However, you cannot see the Sun directly, but its projection on a screen mounted behind the telescope – looking directly at the Sun through a telescope would be far too dangerous. At night, binary stars, star clusters, planetary nebulae or galaxies can be seen through the telescope. At the foot of Insulaner is the Planetarium am Insulaner, which is part of the observatory.
The Wilhelm Foerster Observatory Munsterdamm 86, Schöneberg, Mon 9am to 5pm, Tue-Fri 9am to 8pm, Sat 10am to 8pm, Sun 10am to 5pm), observation nights: 9.50 euros, 50 euros, more information, 7 euros. here
Bruno H. Bürgel Observatory in Spandau
Günter Mekas, chairman of the observatory association, with his son at the telescope. Sven Lambert/image
That the Bruno H. Bürgel Observatory exists is thanks to the members of the Astronomical Society of the same name. Construction of the observatory began in 1989 on behalf of amateur astronomers. The club members built the telescope themselves. According to the association, with a focal length of nine metres, it is the most powerful reflecting telescope in Berlin and an in-house developed prototype. It stands on the western edge of Berlin on the Hahneberg. According to the club members, this is the most favorable place for astronomical observations in light-polluted Berlin. Through the telescope you can see the moon, the planets in our solar system, nebulae or distant galaxies during public sky observations. The association also regularly offers workshops and astronomy lectures. Bruno H. Bürgel was a science journalist from the Berlin/Potsdam area.
Bruno H. Bürgel Observatory Heerstraße 531, Spandau, information on events here.
Dahlewitz School and Public Observatory
View of the Orion Nebula from the telescope of the Dahlewitz ObservatoryDahlewitz Observatory
Mahlow secondary school south of Berlin is special because it is also an observatory. Autumn, winter and spring invite the observatory’s ideal union to major astro-events such as famous fly-by comets, solar and lunar eclipses. But there are also public sky observations without reason. In Mahlow, you can look at the sky with a reflecting telescope from a dome with a diameter of five meters. Attached to the observatory is a small planetarium with a six meter dome.
Dahlewitz School and Public Observatory Bahnhofstraße 63, 15827 Dahlewitz, sky observations only in winter, more information here
Zeiss Large Planetarium in Prenzlauer Berg
View of the dome of the Zeiss Planetarium in Prenzlauer BergBernd Friedel/image
Not a direct view of the sky, but an even more comprehensive one: in the Zeiss Large Planetarium i Prenzlauer Berg Lying down, you look at the interior of a huge dome. The films shown in “Full Dome” are journeys through the universe or portraits of our earth, treatises on black holes or films regarding life at the molecular level. Built in 1987, it is one of the last representative buildings in the GDR. According to its own statements, it is “Europe’s most modern science theatre.”
Zeiss-Großplanetarium Prenzlauer Allee 80, Prenzlauer Berg, entrance 9.50 euros, reduced price 7.50 euros, opening hours depending on events, more information here
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