Announcement

Discover your Place in Space at the ESO Supernova

Astronomy and art combine in Hubble-inspired travelling exhibition

17 May 2018

From 17 May to 2 September 2018, the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre will display it’s first temporary exhibition — Our Place in Space. This small free-of-charge showcase of art and science is inspired by the  spectacular images of  the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and encourages visitors to consider where humanity fits into the grand scheme of the Universe. Works from eleven Italian artists  are presented to provide a unique view of the Universe and our place within it.

For more than 28 years, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has been expanding our cosmic horizons. It is one of the most ambitious and successful astronomy missions ever flown in space and is a great example of a successful international partnership. Not only has this magnificent telescope revealed and shared the beauty, wonder, and complexity of the Universe, but it has also brought astronomy to the public eye, greatly impacting our culture, society and art.

Hubble’s images have been inspiring artists all over the world for over two decades. They have provided a stunning pictorial backdrop to the deep existential questions that we all share: where do we come from? where we are going? are we alone? These are questions that are of great interest to professional astronomers but also have deep meaning for each one of us.

Originally designed by Antonella Nota (ESA), and Anna Caterina Bellati (Bellati Ed.), and sponsored by the European Space Agency in collaboration with STScI, the objective of Our Place in Space is to ponder humanity’s place in the Universe. Astronomers and artists present their own interpretations of where we are, where we belong, what our past might have been and how our future might look. The ESO version of the exhibition taps into the imagination of 11 artists who have produced pieces inspired by Hubble. The artworks range from alabaster-sculpted nebulae to planetary spheres encrusted with glass mosaics to a spacecraft built from recycled wood, plastic, and toys. This fusion of science and art showcases the impact that Hubble has made on culture and society.

From February to April 2017, Our Place in Space premiered in the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti in Venice, Italy. In summer 2017, it was on display in Chiavenna, Italy. And from today until 2 September 2018, it will be exhibited at the ESO Supernova. This location was chosen partly to honour the longstanding and fruitful cooperation between the European Space Agency and the European Southern Observatory.

The ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre opened its doors to the public on 28 April 2018. To see the full range of activities on offer and to book a place at any events, please use the following link. Entrance to the entire centre, including Our Place in Space, is free of charge in 2018.

More Information

The ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre

The ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre is a cutting-edge astronomy centre for the public and an educational facility, located at the site of the ESO Headquarters in Garching bei München. The centre hosts the largest tilted planetarium in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and an interactive exhibition, sharing the fascinating world of astronomy and ESO to inspire coming generations to appreciate and understand the Universe around us. All content is provided in English and German and entrance is free, but requires prior booking. For more details visit: supernova.eso.org

The ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre is a cooperation between the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS). The building is a donation from the Klaus Tschira Stiftung (KTS), a German foundation, and ESO runs the facility.

ESO Supernova is proudly supported by: LOR Foundation, Evans & Sutherland, Sky-Skan and Energie-Wende-Garching.

KTS

The Klaus Tschira Stiftung (KTS) was created in 1995 by the physicist and SAP co-founder Klaus Tschira (1940-2015). It is one of Europe’s largest privately funded non-profit foundations. The Foundation promotes the advancement of the natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science, and strives to raise appreciation for these fields. The Foundation’s commitment begins in kindergarten and continues in schools, universities, and research facilities. The Foundation champions new methods of scientific knowledge transfer, and supports both development and intelligible presentation of research findings.

HITS

The Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS gGmbH) was established in 2010 by the physicist and SAP co-founder Klaus Tschira (1940-2015) and the Klaus Tschira Foundation as a private, non-profit research institute. HITS conducts basic research in the natural sciences, mathematics and computer science, with a focus on processing, structuring, and analysing large amounts of data. The research fields range from molecular biology to astrophysics. The shareholders of HITS are the HITS Stiftung, which is a subsidiary of the Klaus Tschira Foundation, Heidelberg University and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). HITS also cooperates with other universities and research institutes and with industrial partners. The base funding of HITS is provided by the HITS Stiftung with funds received from the Klaus Tschira Foundation. The primary external funding agencies are the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the German Research Foundation (DFG), and the European Union.

ESO

ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world’s most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It has 15 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile and with Australia as a strategic partner. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities, enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world’s most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory, and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world’s largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT, which will become “the world’s biggest eye on the sky”.

Links

• Our Place in Space at the ESO Supernova
• More Information about Our Place in Space
• The ESO Supernova website
• The ESO Supernova programme
• ESO Supernova Fact Sheet (PDF)
• Support ESO Supernova

Contacts

Tania Johnston
ESO Supernova Coordinator
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 320 061 30
Email: tjohnsto@eso.org

Mathias Jäger
ESA/Hubble, Public Information Officer
Garching, Germany
Tel: +49 176 62397500
Email: mjaeger@partner.eso.org