Sky, mountain, music... Herschel concert! - 08.30.
Our cultural-astronomical event, which has been popular for years, forms a link between the art of classical music and the majesty of the celestial spheres again this year! Our concert commemorates the astronomical and musical work of William Herschel, the famous astronomer of the eighteenth century, who also discovered Uranus. As dawn approaches, Herschel's symphonies come to life in the park with ancient trees, at the foot of the illuminated, classicist dome, which are worthy harbingers of the heavenly spheres of the dusk starry sky!
Schedule
Let's see what we are preparing for this afternoon and evening:
17:00-19:00 Daytime astronomy:
The Stargate opens at 17:00! Both the Telescope Workshop and the Observation Terrace have the Sun in the main role! With our solar observation telescopes we can admire the sunspots of the setting Sun, and with our Hydrogen Alpha telescope we can admire the wonderful solar flames of the Sun's atmosphere!
Another target for our daytime stargazing will be the planet Venus. In the Budapest dome between 5 and 6 p.m. and on the Observation Terrace between 6 and 7 p.m., we can observe the 91%, almost full, tiny glowing planet.
17:00-19:30 Interactive programs:
Before the concert we are preparing several scientific, interactive, entertaining programs closely related to astronomy:
In our meteorite analysis program, we examine the rainbow-colored crystals of stones fallen from the sky with our microscopes. Moreover, we can get our hands on many pieces of our meteorite collection.
Spacetime We use glass balls racing on trampolines to model the movements of planets and stars.
By smelling the 'space perfumes' enclosed in the flasks of our planet-sniffing Lab, anyone can feel themselves on the wonderful celestial bodies of the solar system! A unique experience, we guarantee that! :)
In our Spectrum Zone you can find many illuminating optical devices and light bending devices. This really promises to be a colorful program.
Plush Planet Solar System program we will get to know all the planets and their most well-known moons. In fact, with the help of the children, we build a distance-proportional plush model of the solar system.
Constellation puzzle: This time, the most beautiful constellations and star legends come to life not in the sky, but in our Observatory. We are counting on the diligent participation of the children in this as well!
Local History Walk: We can get acquainted with the romantic life of astronomers and the most exciting stories of our centuries-old research institute on this walking tour. What did the old telescope giant witness?
19:40-21:00 Herschel concert:
Herschel's symphonies will be performed by the Lajos Vass Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Bence Uzsaly. Some pieces will be accompanied by the singing of the Lajos Vass Choir.
The Vasas Art Ensemble is one of Hungary's oldest amateur art communities, which can look back on 120 years of history in 2023.
This year's programme of the Lajos Vass Symphony Orchestra will be announced soon!
21:00-23:00 Evening stargazing:
After the classical music concert, with the help of our expert astronomers, we will immerse ourselves in the beauties of the sky. With the giant telescope of the Budapest dome, the astronomical telescopes set up at the Observatory, the Observation Terrace and the Telescope Workshop, we can observe the double stars, star clusters and nebulae of the crisp sky in early autumn. Albireo's colourful double star, the Coat hanger star cluster (Cr 399) and the hook-hand-shaped Hook Captain cluster (NGC 6633) will also be telescoped. The Ring Nebula (M27) shines like a cosmic smoke ring in the telescope, the Dumbbell Nebula (M27) appears in the shape of an apple cob, and the Swan Nebula (M17) is a giant gas nebula resembling a floating waterfowl. Finally, for this wonderful evening, the special planetary giant of our solar system, Saturn puts on the crown, and we can also observe its tapering, razor-sharp ring!
Laser constellation tour:
In the framework of a laser constellation tour we wander among the most beautiful constellations of the summer sky, where we say goodbye to the summer evening sky next to the most beautiful Greek star legends.
The open-air concert will be on the freshly mowed grass of the park, it is worth bringing blankets and polyfoam to sit on. In case of bad weather, the rain day is: Friday, September 6, 17:00!
Svábhegyi Observatory of Budapest
"The Svábhegyi Observatory is the largest demonstrational observatory in Budapest also an interactive astronomy experience centre. Our main goal is to bring the beauty of the Universe closer to everyone."