5 December 2024 – 15 February 2025
The sun is a source of fascination for people across all cultures. To the naked eye, it appears as a dazzling round disk. With the help of scientific instruments, however, we can expand upon our observations of the sun, and gain a better understanding of the processes occurring on and within it surface.
Scientists in Göttingen have long been involved in solar research – most recently with the construction and flight of the solar observatory “Sunrise.” Carried by a balloon, Sunrise III flew through the stratosphere for six and a half days in July 2024, capturing continuous images of the sun’s surface and atmosphere.
Documentary filmmakers Johannes Kohout and Janek Totaro followed the “Sunrise” research team for sixteen months. Their film provides an unprecedented glimpse into the locations, conditions, and challenges faced while preparing the observatory for its flight.
The accompanying exhibition Solar Views
The sun is a source of fascination for people across all cultures. To the naked eye, it appears as a dazzling round disk. With the help of scientific instruments, however, we can expand upon our observations of the sun, and gain a better understanding of the processes occurring on and within it surface.
Scientists in Göttingen have long been involved in solar research – most recently with the construction and flight of the solar observatory “Sunrise.” Carried by a balloon, Sunrise III flew through the
stratosphere for six and a half days in July 2024, capturing continuous images of the sun’s surface and atmosphere.
Documentary filmmakers Johannes Kohout and Janek Totaro followed the “Sunrise” research team for sixteen months. Their film provides an unprecedented glimpse into the locations, conditions, and challenges faced while preparing the observatory for its flight.
The film can be viewed daily at 11:00 AM | 1:30 PM | 4:00 PM Duration: 94 minutes
The accompanying exhibition was developed with the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Akinema Film Production, the Göttingen Amateur Astronomy Association, and the university’s scientific collections. It features objects from the university’s collection of prehistoric artefacts, plaster casts, and graphic art, showcasing human ideas and representations of the sun in earlier cultures. Visitors can also trace the history of solar research in Göttingen with the help of models and images.
The special exhibition can be visited during the regular opening hours of the museum. The entrance is free.
Film screeings ‘Sunrise – At the frontiers of feasibility‘
The film can be viewed daily at 11:00 AM | 1:30 PM | 4:00 PM Duration: 94 minutes
Sunrise – At the frontiers of feasibility
The film Sunrise – At the frontiers of feasibility follows the Sunrise III team over sixteen months in the run-up to the first flight of the observatory in the summer of 2022. The documentary focusses on the work of the people and it shows that the pursuit of scientific excellence can be influenced by unpredictable factors.
Germany, Sweden 2024, 94 minutes, German/English (English subtitles)
Accompanying Programme
[Opening on 4 December 2024]
Talk “Solar Views. Film – Exhibition”
Wednesday, 4 December 2024, 7 pm
At the opening, Sandra Potsch, Director of the Museum of Knowledge in the Forum Wissen and the Central Custody, will introduce the exhibition project and talk to the documentary filmmakers Johannes Kohout and Janek Totaro (Akinema) and Dr Achim Gandorfer, one of the scientists involved at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, about the Sunrise project and the making of the film.
[Special Event on December 2024]
A Sun(ny)day in the Forum Wissen – more information to follow…
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