Videos
On this page you will find a selection of videos on various topics of astronomy and astrophysics. The videos were produced as live streams during lectures at the Ars Electronica Centre in Linz or recorded as ESERO Austria videocasts in the studio of the Ars Electronica Centre in Linz. Videos are in German only.
From Europe to Space
We begin our journey through the universe from Europe. We slowly move away from Austria and Europe, look back at our continent and finally recognise the Earth as a rotating blue sphere in space. Before we make our way to the International Space Station, we take a detour to South America, where the European Southern Observatory ESO has been operating its astronomical observatories in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile for over 60 years.
The International Space Station (ISS)
400 kilometres above our heads, the International Space Station orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes. It has been permanently inhabited since 2000 and is the largest international research laboratory in Earth orbit. The experiments carried out on the space station are diverse and range from space medicine and biology, materials science and technology to earth observation and the exploration of the universe.
The Earth’s magnetosphere
The magnetosphere is the area of space around the earth in which charged particles are influenced by the earth’s magnetic field. The magnetic field is created by an internal dynamo and resembles a magnetic dipole close to the earth. Further out, the field lines are distorted by conductive plasma originating from the solar wind. The Earth’s active magnetosphere attenuates the effects of solar radiation and cosmic rays, which are harmful to living organisms.
From the earth to the moon
The moon is our neighbour in space and the second brightest star in the sky after the sun. It has the same apparent diameter in the heavens as the sun and is therefore just as important as the sun. The moon not only lights up the night, it also stabilises the Earth’s axis through its orbit, causes the tides and sets the time for important calendars (Islamic and Jewish calendars) and public holidays.
The phases of the moon
The changing light patterns of the moon are known as lunar phases. They are caused by the change in perspective of its day-night boundary relative to the Earth during its orbit. It is customary to divide the moon into four quarters, each approximately one week long. An entire moon phase cycle from one new moon to the following new moon is also called a lunation and lasts an average of around 29.53 days.
Eclipses
Solar and lunar eclipses are the most impressive astronomical events that we can observe in the sky. This is primarily due to the fact that the moon and sun have almost the same apparent diameter in the sky. In addition, the moon moves close to the ecliptic and so regular occultations of the earth by the moon (solar eclipse) and occultations of the moon by the earth (lunar eclipse) are possible.
The inner solar system
The area of the inner planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars together with the asteroid belt is known as the inner solar system. The inner planets are also known as Earth-like or terrestrial planets, which differ significantly from the outer gaseous gas planets. These are the planets that have a solid surface, are shaped roughly into a sphere by their own gravity and consist mainly of rock.
Euclid – exploring the dark universe
ESA’s Euclid mission will explore the composition and evolution of the dark universe. The space telescope will create a large map of the large-scale structure of the universe across space and time by observing billions of galaxies at a distance of up to 10 billion light years, i.e. over more than a third of the sky. Astronomer Dr Peter Habison gives an overview of the research and findings already made.
Back to the Moon – the Artemis programme
Artemis is the new lunar exploration programme of NASA and other space agencies such as ESA, Jaxa and CSA, which aims to send the first woman and the first European to the Moon. The Artemis missions will utilise new technologies to explore the Moon in new and better ways and prepare for astronaut missions to Mars. ESA has developed Orion’s European service module – the power plant that will supply the spacecraft with power, propulsion, thermal control, air and water.
Cosmic light – from the Big Bang to the present day
Light is commonplace and a constant companion in our lives, yet its true nature is difficult to understand. In particular, light from the cosmos is as diverse as a painter’s palette of colours, and for astronomers it is the most important message for deciphering hidden cosmic mysteries. Modern astrophysics makes the whole palette of cosmic light visible, and so today we can look back almost to the beginning of the world, billions of years into the past.
Exoplanets – in search of the second Earth
For a long time, astronomers were unable to imagine planets around alien stars. With the help of sophisticated detection methods on large telescopes of the 10m class and satellite missions such as “Kepler”, the sky has been populated with thousands of planets around strange suns since the 2000s. The lecture sheds light on the current state of exoplanet research and the search for Earth-like planets around alien stars.
Weightless – life and research on the ISS
Since 2000, the International Space Station has been permanently inhabited by astronauts and, as our outpost in space, it is a habitat, laboratory and research station all in one. The experiments carried out on the space station range from questions of medicine and biology, materials science and physics, the study of the Earth and its climate, to questions about the sun and the planets in the solar system, all the way out into the astronomical vastness of the cosmos.
In the Olympus of modern astronomy
ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the most scientifically productive observatory in the world. It provides astronomers and astrophysicists in Europe and around the world with state-of-the-art facilities for exploring the universe. In Chile, ESO operates three first-class observation sites in the Atacama Desert. The lecture presents the ESO, its observatories and projects in numerous fascinating images and videos.
The biggest eye in the world – ESO’s ELT
The lecture presents the concept of the world’s largest optical telescope currently under construction, reports on the current construction progress and some of the fundamental astronomical questions that will be explored with the telescope. The topics range from extrasolar planets, black holes, the birth, life and death of stars, the development of galaxies, cosmology and the early universe to fundamental questions of modern physics.
Under the Southern Cross – Astronomy in Chile
A fascinating country lies on the west coast of South America. It stretches from Peru in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south, more than 4000 kilometres along the Pacific coast. Its name – Chile. As early as the middle of the 20th century, several nations recognised the special nature of this landscape for the study of the heavens and built numerous astronomical observatories there. The lecture takes us to the north of Chile and tells us about extraordinary landscapes and special places where people have dedicated themselves to exploring the southern starry sky.
