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The Origin of Matter – How are Elements formed in the Universe?

From April to July 2024, we are hosting a public lecture series titled “The Origin of Matter” at Goethe University Frankfurt, featuring distinguished guests such as Harald Lesch and other experts in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics.

Girls’Day 2024 with ELEMENTS

25.04.2024

On this year’s Girls’Day, our visitors go on a journey to the smallest particles of the Universe. They take part in a live tour of the particle accelerator S-DALINAC in Darmstadt, where electrons can be accelerated close to the speed of light. The students also have the chance to meet various physicists and ask them anything about their work.

The Girls’ Day is a nationwide career and study orientation day that introduces girls to professions or fields of study in which women make up less than 40 percent of the workforce.

Register here for our Girls’Day.

Where? Institute for Nuclear Physics, TU Darmstadt
When? 25 April 2024

Spring Festival at Goethe University

26.05.2024

Goethe University and its Science Garden invite citizens, friends, alumni, residents, staff and students as well as interested parties to the Spring Festival. Get to know the Science Garden and its scientists on a guided walk or at the exhibition stands. ELEMENTS will be part of the exhibition with the interactive Neutron Star.

More information: Frühlingsfest 2024

Where? Campus Riedberg, Goethe University Frankfurt
When? 26 May 2024, 10 am to 5 pm

Past Events:

ELEMENTS at “Wissenschaft für Alle”

14.02.2024

Talk by Almudena Arcones: “Kosmische Laboratorien für Kernphysik”

More information: GSI  –  Wissenschaft für Alle

Where? FAIR/GSI Campus, Planckstraße 1, 64291 Darmstadt + online
When? 14 February 2024, 2 to 3 pm

Knowledge on Tap

11.01.2024

Out of the lab or lecture hall and into the bar, pub, or café, scientists from Goethe University embark on a new series called “Knowledge on Tap“. For the audience, this means going out in the evening and expanding their horizons – perhaps learning how the speed of light can contribute to energy efficiency and the tricks needed for medications to reach the right place in the body. Most importantly, it’s about the people who work on such topics and are passionate about their field. ELEMENTS-spokesperson Norbert Pietralla will be part of the series on 11 January.

Where? Kunstverein Familie Montez, Honsellstraße 7, 60314 Frankfurt am Main
When? 11 January 2024, 7.30 pm

3rd Stroll through the Universe (postponed)

Just after the holidays, we will take you on another very special walk exploring our universe!

Together with Robert Roth from the TURM Observatory in Darmstadt and Early Career Researchers from ELEMENTS, we will go on a discovery tour of the winter night sky. With the help of live-controlled telescopes in Spain, we will travel many light-years into the past and visit various astronomical objects ranging from galaxy clusters and giant stars to whimsically shaped nebulae.

At the various stations there is a lot to learn about the research topics of ELEMENTS and the CRC 1245. How did the first stars form? What happens at the end of a star’s life? Where do these neutron stars, the visible “little siblings” of black holes, actually hide? And what do they have to do with the formation of gold?

Where? online on Twitch
When? 11 January 2024, 7.30 to 9.30 pm

Image: TURM Observatory

Frankfurt Children’s University

04.10.2023

A starry sky on a clear night is beautiful. But what are stars and what are they made of? Camilla Juul Hansen looks at stars through telescopes. The images from these telescopes look very strange, however, because they show light that we cannot see with our eyes. But the pictures reveal what stars are made of and where gold and silver come from. Find out on the first day of this year’s Children’s University at Goethe University Frankfurt!

More information: 20. Frankfurter Kinder-Uni
You can watch the talk here.

Where? Audimax, Campus Westend, Goethe University Frankfurt
When? 4 October 2023

Highlights der Physik

25. – 30.09.2023

At the science festival “Highlights der Physik”, visitors can gain insights into current research in physics in a large exhibition tent. We will be there with our Neutron Star! In addition, the festival offers an entertaining program for children and young people and a diverse range of lectures.

More information: Highlights der Physik

Where? Rathausplatz Kiel
When? 25 to 30 September 2023

Re-Opening “Science Castle”

16.09.2023

The Science Castle is open again! After completion of the extensive renovation work, Darmstadt Castle will once again become a central place of diverse exchange between science and society. We are on site with our Neutron Star.

More information: Wissenschaftsschloss Darmstadt

Where? Schloss, 64283 Darmstadt
When? 16 September 2023, 2 to 9.30 pm

Universe on Tour

26. – 30.07.2023

As part of the Science Year “Our Universe”, the travelling planetarium will also make a stop close to us! ELEMENTS will be on site with the interactive Neutron Star the entire week. On Wednesday at 8 pm, René Reifarth will give a public talk on the formation of elements.

More information: Universe on Tour – BMBF Wissenschaftsjahr 2023

Where? Kellereiplatz, Hofheim am Taunus
When? 26 to 30 July 2023

Image: BMBF / Wissenschaftsjahr 2023. bundesfoto, Christina Czybik

Open House at GSI/FAIR

15.07.2023

Seeing. Experiencing. Understanding: The Open House offers an adventure trip into science and leads right into the heart of the cutting-edge research activities at GSI and FAIR with numerous information and entertainment offers. We are going to be at the Science Square with our interactive Neutron Star.

More information: GSI – Open House

Where? GSI/FAIR, Planckstraße 1, 64291 Darmstadt
When? 15 July 2023, 10 am to 4 pm

Night of Science 2023

16.06.2023

It will be getting late again this year! From 6 to 10 pm you can explore our interactive neutron star at the annual Night of Science.

Talks by ELEMENTS:
7.45 pm Luciano Rezzolla
11.30 pm Camilla Juul Hansen
0.45 am René Reifarth

More information: Night of Science – Wissenschaft ganz anders

Where? Campus Riedberg, Goethe University Frankfurt
When? 16 June 2023

ELEMENTS at “Wissenschaft für Alle”

17.05.2023

Talk by Joachim Stroth: “Stark, Stärker, Schwer! – Was uns Schwerionenkollisionen über die Entstehung der Materie verraten”

More information: GSI  –  Wissenschaft für Alle

Where? FAIR/GSI Campus, Planckstraße 1, 64291 Darmstadt + online
When? 17 May 2023, 2 to 3 pm

Girls’Day 2023 with ELEMENTS

27.04.2023

We dive into the world of physics – between theory and experiment, there is a lot to discover on the Riedberg campus of Goethe University! We take a close look at a fascinating object from outer space. Afterwards, there will be a campus tour to discover the different areas in which you can work as a physicist. And what do they actually do all day long? You can ask them personally, of course!

Girls’ Day is a nationwide career and study orientation day that introduces girls to professions or fields of study in which women make up less than 40 percent of the workforce.

More information and registration is available on the website of the Girls’Day.

Where? Campus Riedberg, Goethe University Frankfurt
When? 27 April 2023, 9.15 am to 2 pm

2nd Stroll through the Universe

27.12.2022

After Christmas, we will again take you on a very special walk: We will explore the universe!

Together with Robert Roth from the TURM Observatory of the Technical University of Darmstadt and Early Career Researchers from ELEMENTS, we will go on a discovery tour of the winter night sky. With the help of live-controlled telescopes in Spain, we will travel many light-years into the past and visit various astronomical objects ranging from galaxy clusters and giant stars to whimsically shaped nebulae.

At the various stations there is a lot to learn about the research topics of ELEMENTS. How did the first stars form? What happens at the end of a star’s life? Where do these neutron stars, the visible “little siblings” of black holes, actually hide? And what do they have to do with the formation of gold?

Where? online on Twitch
When? 27 December 2022, 7.30 to 9.30 pm

Image: TURM Observatory

ELEMENTS at “Saturday Morning Physics”

As part of the popular “Saturday Morning Physics” series for high school students, Achim Schwenk gives a talk on neutron stars and extreme matter in the Universe.

More information: Saturday Morning Physics – TU Darmstadt

Where? online
When? 19 November 2022, 9 am

Reading “The Disordered Cosmos” with Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

09.11.2022 [cancelled]

Who is a scientist? Who is allowed to do research and under what conditions? And at whose expense?

Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein addresses these important questions in her book The Disordered Cosmos – A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, & Dreams Deferred, explaining not only the topics she researches in an accessible way, but also using numerous personal and historical examples to show what a major role racism, misogyny, and colonialism still play in the natural sciences and beyond.

Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is an assistant professor of physics and astronomy and core faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire. Originally from East L.A., Dr. Prescod-Weinstein is a graduate of Harvard College, University of California — Santa Cruz, and the University of Waterloo. One of under 100 Black American women to earn a PhD from a department of physics, she is a theoretical physicist with expertise in particle physics, cosmology, and astrophysics, with an emphasis on dark matter. In addition, Dr. Prescod-Weinstein is a theorist of Black feminist science, technology, and society studies, and a monthly columnist for New Scientist. Her research and advocacy for marginalized people in physics and astronomy have won multiple awards.

Image: Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Night of Science 2022

24.06.2022

It’s getting late again… On 24 June, the student-organised “Night of Science” will take place at Goethe University, where scientists from all natural sciences will give exciting insights into their research work. Luciano Rezzolla and René Reifarth will give talks on ELEMENTS topics.

8.10 pm “Die unwiderstehliche Anziehung der Schwerkraft” (Luciano Rezzolla)
10.40 pm “Der Kosmische Hexenkessel” (René Reifarth)

Where? Campus Riedberg, Goethe University Frankfurt + online
When? 24 June 2022 from 6.30 pm

“At the Center of our Milky Way” with Reinhard Genzel

04.05.2022

In the past 50 years, more and more findings suggested that Black Holes, which are located at the centers of galaxies, transform gravitational energy into radiation by accumulating gas and stars.

With the help of high resolution measurements in the infrared and radio range, the existence of a Black Hole at the centre of our Milky Way was confirmed and surprising evidence about its close surroundings were revealed. It became clear that most galaxies host massive Black Holes, which must have formed as early as 1 billion years after the Big Bang.

Nobel laureate Reinhard Genzel will give a talk on these new measurements and reveal insights into the formation of Black Holes in the early universe.

Where? Casino Anbau West, Campus Westend, Goethe University Frankfurt + online
When? 4 May 2022, 7 to 8.30 pm

Image: Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, Garching

Girls’Day 2022 with ELEMENTS

28.04.2022

At this virtual event, pupils go on a journey to the smallest particles of the universe with physicists of ELEMENTS. Michaela Arnold will take us on a virtual tour of the particle accelerator in Darmstadt, where electrons can be accelerated close to the speed of light. For example, the origin of heavy elements in the universe can be investigated here. Afterwards, pupils have the chance to “conduct research” themselves and get to meet female physicists in different positions. Laura Sagunski and Francesca Cuteri, together with other members of the equality council of Goethe University’s Physics department, will exchange views with the attendees.

The Girls’ Day is a nationwide career and study orientation day that introduces girls to professions or fields of study in which women make up less than 40 percent of the workforce.

Where? online
When? 28 April 2022

1st Stroll through the Universe

30.12.2021

Robert Roth presents galaxies far away with the remote telescopes of the TURM Observatory in Darmstadt.

Where? online
When? 30 December 2021