A balmy summer night, the stars are twinkling - and with a bit of luck, you might even see a shooting star. In some places, the sky over NRW is even visible to the naked eye from its most beautiful side: the Milky Way can be seen over the Eifel without any optical aids and many other constellations seem close enough to touch. You can also get very close to the firmament in other places, such as the planetariums in Bochum and Münster. One of the world's largest radio telescopes and a means of transport travelling at warp speed offer other ways of connecting to space.
Tip 1Eifel Star Park
There is hardly any other place in Europe where so many stars can be observed in the night sky above the Star Park in the Eifel. If you want to explore the nocturnal highlights on your own, you can choose from ten selected locations: the SternenBlicke are easy to reach and offer additional information on local features and specific topics.
The astronomy workshop "Stars without borders" offers regular stargazing tours at the Vogelsang observatory, where only the points of light in the sky move and the observers remain in one spot. In addition, specially trained star guides take visitors on discovery tours through the night. Open tours allow spontaneous visits, and groups can request an individualised date and location. For those who want to sleep in afterwards, the certified star hosts offer just the right thing with late riser breakfasts and late check-outs.
www.nordeifel-tourismus.de
Tip 2Signals from space
Signals from space have also been received in the Eifel region for half a century. With a diameter of 100 metres, the Effelsberg radio telescope is one of the two largest fully mobile radio telescopes on earth and receives radio waves from up to 12 billion light years away for scientific purposes. Even though the observatory itself cannot be visited, the visitor pavilion and viewing plateau not only offer a wealth of information on the background and technology, but also a view of the huge circular structure. Three themed hiking trails provide additional information and beautiful circular tours.
www.nordeifel-tourismus.de/radioteleskop-effelsberg
Tip 3Brilliant visibility, even in bad weather
Even on cloudy days, two large planetariums offer a clear view of the starry sky. With its Zeiss star projectors, the Bochum Planetarium is one of the best and most modern planetariums in the world and uses the entire planetarium dome as a screen. The central projector ensures that over 9000 stars appear in the always cloudless planetarium sky.
The planetarium in the LWL Museum of Natural History in Münster offers shows for stargazers and space fans. There are also two permanent exhibitions that use skeletons, models and specimens to provide insights into the animal and plant world from different eras.
Tip 4Operation Enterprise
At Movie Park in Bottrop, you can take off into space yourself - at warp speed. On board the spaceship U.S.S. Enterprise, the aim is to defeat evil and set off in shuttles into the vastness of space. The triple launch coaster "Star Trek™: Operation Enterprise" is more than just a fast roller coaster, it is also a special photo spot: Thanks to new technology, you can have the fast-paced tour captured digitally via app as a 360-degree experience during the ride. The ride can be relived from every perspective in the app and shared directly on social media platforms.
