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Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy

Stargazing

Have you ever wanted look at the stars with a real telescope? You can do this at the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy! We organize regular stargazing events and lectures by leading astronomers, free of charge.
Stargazing nights

With the lengthening of the days plus daylight savings time, it is not possible to organize stargazing events after the end of March. During spring and summer, there are daytime events and lectures, plus daytime sidewalk astronomy activities. The stargazing evenings will be back after the summer break.

Orion
The constellation of Orion as seen from one of our domes.

For whom?

The open nights are aimed toward everyone in Amsterdam and surroundings who is interested in Astronomy. For the lectures, it does help to remember some of the basics you learned at secondary school but we aim to start with the basics. If the level is too high anyway: Please don't hesitate to ask!

Lectures

Lectures start at 19:00 and take about an hour. There is no observing at these events.

Dome tours/observing

On these nights there are multiple time slots you can register for, usually one at 19:00 and one at 20:00. If the sky is not clear during these events we do not cancel: we can show images and videos we took earlier and can tell you all about the observatory by night.

Registration

Admission is free. You can register via the application form on this website. Registration is not required but if you do register, you are guaranteed admission if you are on time. Tickets of no-shows will be given to visitors who have not been registered at 19:00 sharp.

Most nights are in Dutch, though lectures are often in English. Check the website for details in the weeks before a stargazing evening.

Check the agenda for our stargazing events

Accessibility

There are ample (paid) parking spaces available at the Science Park Amsterdam. The Science Park is easily accessible with public transport. Bus 40 stops on site. Railway station Amsterdam Science Park is the nearest train station. We are located in building 904, as shown on the map of Science Park Amsterdam.

Our rooftop observatory is not currently accessible to wheelchair users, so we unfortunately cannot at this time accommodate wheelchair users for the observing and guided tour sections of our stargazing evenings.

Contact

For more information about the stargazing events or other questions about our outreach efforts, please send an e-mail to outreach-astro-science@uva.nl.