Merry XMAS 2025
WOMEN’S NETWORKING ACTIVITY: From Research to Reach (12.12.2025)
We are happy to invite you to our upcoming women’s networking event: “From Research to Reach.”
This event will feature UoC alumni who have transitioned from academia to the private sector. Together, we’ll discuss topics such as:
* The importance of support systems and mentors;
* Building a scientific identity outside academia;
* Confidence and sense of belonging after career or life changes;
* Fostering inclusion and creativity in the workplace;
* Different concepts of “impact”.
Confirmed panel speakers:
* Dr. Aleena Baby earned her PhD in Astrophysics from UoC in 2023 and has since transitioned to the private sector, working primarily in data science. She is currently a Data Scientist and AI specialist in Germany’s manufacturing industry, and a Lecturer at a technical university. Through her “Academia to Industry” brand, she also helps researchers and PhDs in navigating career transitions into industry roles.
* Dr. Annika Franeck completed her PhD in Astrophysics at UoC in 2018 before undertaking a postdoctoral position at the Czech Academy of Sciences. She later moved into industry as a Product Developer at BetterDoc. She is now a Team Lead Asset in Pricing & Analytics at Next Kraftwerke, contributing to the energy transition toward a sustainable future.
* Dr. Nassim Tanha, who obtained her PhD at the UoC in 2023, where she also worked as a postdoctoral researcher. She works as an ESG data manager at BarmeniaGothaer Asset Management since May of 2025.
Event duration: Approx. 2 hours.
This event is intended for all non-male SFB 1601 members.
📅 Date: December 12
🕔 Time: 17:00
📍 Location: SR ETP 0.02
🥪 Food and drinks will be provided.
To help us plan catering, please RSVP here by December 8 if possible:
Student event: XMAS Markets
XMAS after work events have been organized by the Student Council!
The first event will be in Bonn, on the 3rd of December at 18:00. CRC students meet at the foyer in the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy and then go to the market. The second event will be in Cologne on the 10th of December, and the students meet at the door of the I Physics Institute at 18:00.
New Lectures at the Public Observatory Cologne (in German)
Gastvortrag: Kants Kosmologie aus Sicht der modernen Astrophysik
Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804) stellte Spekulationen über den Aufbau unseres
Milchstraßensystems an und favorisierte die Hypothese einer außergalaktischen
Stellung der beobachteten „Nebelflecken“ am Himmel.
Dennoch betrachtete er die Kosmologie skeptisch weil entsprechend seiner
Erkenntnistheorie die Welt als Ganzes kein Gegenstand der Erfahrung sein kann.
Im 20. Jahrhundert haben Beobachtungen und die theoretische Astrophysik seine
Vorbehalte gegenüber einer physikalischen Kosmologie revidiert.
Referent: Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Blome (Fachhochschule Aachen)
Gastvortrag: Der “Urknall” – Geburt des Weltalls aus dem Nichts?
Eine der erstaunlichsten Entdeckungen der Astronomie ist die allgemeine Ausdehnung des Weltalls.
Zur Beschreibung der Entwicklung des Kosmos wurde das “Standardmodell” entwickelt, das jedoch
zwei geheimnisvolle Kräfte benötigt: die “Dunkle Materie” und die “Dunkle Energie”. Wie glaubhaft
ist dieses Modell? Ist unser Verständnis der Gravitation unzureichend? Ist das Universum älter als
bisher angenommen, wie neue Beobachtungen des James Webb Weltraumteleskops andeuten?
Sogar der “Urknall”, Beginn von Raum und Zeit, gerät ins Zwielicht. Entstand unser Weltall etwa
durch den Kollaps eines früheren Universums? Oder ist unsere Welt gar nur ein kleiner Teil eines
viel größeren “Multiversums”?
Referent: Dr. Rainer Beck (Bornheim)
Join us for the second event of Season 8 of Astronomy on Tap Bonn on November 25, 2025
Please join us for the second event of Season 8 of Astronomy on Tap Bonn!
It will take place at The Fiddlers Pub (Frongasse 9, Endenich) on Tuesday, 25 at
19:00 featuring talks on
“Der Stern S2 und das dunkle Geheimnis im Zentrum der Milchstraße” by Dr.
Gunther Witzel (DE)
“Compiling the Cosmos: The Journey of Astronomers and Algorithms” by Tejas Oak
(EN)
There is the opportunity to win wonderful prizes, so do not miss out! We
recommend you reserve a table in advance though.
Astrospektroskopie im Alltag: Wie Licht und das Universum unser tägliches Leben prägt (Klassen 7-10) – CRC1601@Kölner JuniorUni
Mo., 2.2.2026, 17:00-19:30 Uhr
Das meiste Licht erscheint uns weiß, ist aber tatsächlich eine Mischung vieler verschiedener Farben. In unserem Workshop wirst du ein Handspektrometerbauen, mit dem du diese Spektrallinien sichtbar machen kannst. So wirst du selbst entdecken, wie unterschiedlich das Licht aus verschiedenen Quellen zusammengesetzt ist – von der Straßenlampe über dein Smartphone-Display bis hin zum Licht der Sonne. Bei uns im Köln-Bonner Sonderforschungsbereich Kosmische Entwicklung der Lebensräume massereicher Sterne werdenSpektrallinien verwendet, die uns verraten, welche Elemente und Moleküle das Licht aussenden, um die Umgebungen von Sternen zu untersuchen. Diese beeinflussen maßgeblich die Entwicklung von Galaxien und sind deshalb der Schlüssel zum Verständnis der Ursprünge unserer Galaxie. Mach mit und entdecke, wie Licht nicht nur unser tägliches Leben prägt, sondern auch dabei hilft, das Universum zu entschlüsseln!
The SFB1601 visits the DLR (6.11.2025)
SFB1601 members visited the DLR Cologne, kindly invited by Alexander Rüttgers and Achim Basermann.
After learning about the history of Astronautics we started our visit in the European Astronaut Center (EAC) with highly interesting information about ESA astronaut training, how to survive in space and how the ISS was built while watching live pictures from space. Actual experiments on the effects of space and the lack of gravity on the human body as well as radiation were the main topics in the Institute of Aerospace Medicine.
After the Space Control Center (what time is it on the ISS?) and lunch in the cafeteria, two exciting presentations showcased the DLR’s research in the fields of quantum computing and mapping of space debris:
Dr. David DA COSTA: “Collective neutrino oscillations in a quantum computer”
Patrick Lenz: “BACARDI – A catalogue for space debris”.
LinkedIn Post by the DLR: https://de.linkedin.com/posts/dlr-software-technology_highperformancecomputing-quantencomputing-activity-7392554204218884096-8XXu
Join us for Astronomy on Tap Bonn’s Halloween edition on October 28
Join us for Astronomy on Tap Bonn’s Halloween edition!
You can attend exciting astronomy talks in English and German at Fiddlers Pub (Frongasse 9, Endenich) on Tuesday 28 at 19:00.
– “Who’s hiding behind the Gamma-ray glow?” by Lucía Gebauer (myself) (EN)
– “Was raubt Kosmologen den Schlaf?” by Lucas Porth (DE)
Since it’s a spooky-themed event, feel welcome to come in costume. There is the opportunity to win wonderful prizes, so do not miss out!
Join us for the Halloween special of Astronomy on Tap Köln on October 30
Join us next week at our new Astronomy on Tap Köln season of WiSe 2025-2026!
Registrations: https://t.rausgegangen.de/tickets/astronomy-on-tap-koln-2
Every month, Astronomy on Tap Köln brings you fun and enlightening talks in German and English! Join us to find what Astrophysicists are up to in solving the puzzles of the cosmos.
Make sure to show off your smarts in the exciting Pub Quiz. Winners get astronomy goodies from the European Southern Observatory, SOFIA and other cool telescopes, to take home!
Check-in now for free! or simply respond to this email with the no. of people you plan to bring to the event (not mandatory but helps us to make adequate arrangements)
Program 30.Oct 2025
“Untote Galaxien” (auf Deutsch) by Nikolaus Sulzenauer
Aus Lehrbüchern kennen wir Bilder von nahezu perfekten, hoch-symmetrischen Spiralgalaxien – die wie in Neonfarben leuchten. Aber wie sind diese Galaxien eigentlich zu ihrer Hochglanzform gekommen? Und was lässt sich über die Entstehung ihrer Schwestergalaxien, den leuchtkräftigen, annähernd makellosen elliptischen Galaxien, sagen? Die Forschung zeigt, dass das heutige Erscheinugsbild dieser galaktischen Monumente einem stetigen Wandel unterworfen ist. Die beeindruckende Erscheinung dieser Galaxien bedingt eine gewaltsame Kette an Ereignissen, die uns zurückführt in die Frühzeiten des Kosmos. In dieser Präsentation werde ich Licht in die Katakomben der Entwicklung von massereichen Galaxien werfen, und von deren spukhaften Auferstehung als untote Galaxien im frühen Universum berichten.
“Wrath of the Wolf-Rayets ” (in English) by Prachi Prajapati
This talk will take you on a thrilling voyage into the haunting final stages of massive stars—Wolf-Rayets. Everything in the grand design of Universe has a purpose—and so do these monsters, shrouded in cosmic mystery and rage. Let us discover how these ghosts of dying stars may be hurling cosmic rays our way!
CRC 1601 Sustainability Day
The CRC 1601 Sustainability Board invites you to the next Sustainability Day. A full afternoon is dedicated to interesting topics and workshops and will be completed by a vegan BBQ accompanied by a quiz.
Registration is closed, please contact a member of the sustainability board if you would like to join.
New Program of the Public Observatory Cologne
The winter program of the Public Observatory Cologne is online.
Please have a look at their website or here:
https://sfb1601.astro.uni-koeln.de/volkssternwarte/
The Public Observatory Cologne is a private institution which is run by the members of the “Vereinigung der Sternfreunde Köln e.V.” on a voluntary basis. This association of interested amateurs and amateur astronomers was founded in 1922 with the aim of disseminating basic astronomical knowledge to the public and promoting the training and further education of active amateur astronomers within the scope of the available possibilities.With the 60cm refractor “Cologne Large Telescope” (CLT) installed in 2012, the Volkssternwarte Köln operates the largest freely accessible telescope in North Rhine-Westphalia
Lange Nacht der Astronomie (13.09.2025 at the Public Observatory Cologne)
20:00 Uhr Lecture: FYST – The new Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope
20:00 o’clock: Visit of the Observatory
21:00 o`clock: Visit of the Observatory and planetarium presentations
Join us for the next event of Astronomy on Tap Köln
Join us next week at our new Astronomy on Tap Köln season of WiSe 2024-2025! Program below. Registrations here: https://t.rausgegangen.de/tickets/astronomy-on-tap-koln-2
Every month, Astronomy on Tap Köln brings you fun and enlightening talks in German and English! Join us to find what Astrophysicists are up to in solving the puzzles of the cosmos.
Make sure to show off your smarts in the exciting Pub Quiz. Winners get astronomy goodies from the European Southern Observatory, SOFIA and other cool telescopes, to take home!
Check-in now for free! or simply respond to this email with the no. of people you plan to bring to the event (not mandatory but helps us to make adequate arrangements)
Program 08. May 2025
“Die direkte Umgebung unseres zentralen schwarzen Lochs Sgr A* – Eine Analyse der Vorgänge um Sgr A*” (auf Deutsch) by Dr. Florian Peissker
Das Zentrum unserer Galaxy beherbergt in supermassives schwarzes Loch. In meinem Vortrag werde ich die Umgebung und die dynamischen Prozesse vorstellen.
“Why do we need a new German Center for Astrophysics in Lusatia?” (in English) by Pavlo Plotko
This talk will be about the idea behind the DZA, explore its future science cases, and explain the reasons for building an international astrophysics center in Lusatia.
More information about Astronomy on Tap can be found here: https://sfb1601.astro.uni-koeln.de/events/aot-2/
You are invited to Astronomy on Tap Bonn on April 29, 2025!
Join us for Astronomy on Tap Bonn!
You can attend exciting astronomy talks in English and German at Fiddlers Pub (Frongasse 9, Endenich) on Tuesday 29 at 19:00.
– “Masers, the original space lasers (A tale of bright ideas, patents and an invention with no seemingly no use)” by Prof. Arshia Jacob (EN)
– “Es gab keinen Big-Bang, wenn nicht…” by Prof. Hans Fahr (DE)
There is the opportunity to win wonderful prizes, so do not miss out!
Visit to the Effelsberg Radio Telescope
With a diameter of 100 meters, the Radio Telescope Effelsberg is one of the largest fully steerable radio telescopes on earth. Members of the CRC 1601 were invited to a tour that included beside the visitors pavilion and the observation platform also the control rooms and the first platform of telescope.
CRC1601-visit to the Public Observatory Cologne
Members of the CRC1601 visited to Public Observatory Cologne on March 19, 2025.
Having a clear sky, we were able to observe several stars and nebulae.
Public Observatory Cologne
The program for Winter 2025 is online: https://sfb1601.astro.uni-koeln.de/volkssternwarte/
Talks at the Public Observatory Cologne
The first 2025-guest talks of our cooperation partner, the Public Observatory Cologne are online. Please have a look at their website or here: https://sfb1601.astro.uni-koeln.de/volkssternwarte/
The Public Observatory Cologne is a private institution which is run by the members of the “Vereinigung der Sternfreunde Köln e.V.” on a voluntary basis. This association of interested amateurs and amateur astronomers was founded in 1922 with the aim of disseminating basic astronomical knowledge to the public and promoting the training and further education of active amateur astronomers within the scope of the available possibilities.With the 60cm refractor “Cologne Large Telescope” (CLT) installed in 2012, the Volkssternwarte Köln operates the largest freely accessible telescope in North Rhine-Westphalia
CRC1601 insect hotels are ready for moving in
The CRC’s Sustainability Board is responsible for coordinating the evaluation of the environmental impact of the CRC’s activities and proposing measures to reduce it.
In addition, the Sustainability Board organises talks and workshops for the CRC members to raise awareness of sustainability issues and establish solutions for daily work.
During the sustainability barbecue on October 17, among other topics, the University of Cologne’s sustainability strategy and the problem of conference trips were discussed. In the afternoon, several workshops took place, one of which involved participants building their own insect hotels. This Thursday, a total of seven insect hotels were put up around the physics department of the University of Cologne.
Insect hotels provide shelter and nesting facilities for a variety of insects during winter. Introducing insect hotels can help with pollination and ecosystem diversity.
Foto and Video by Helen Kupfer and Annemarie Sich
The CRC1601 devotes the afternoon of October 17 to sustainability!
Did you know that the University of Cologne has its own Sustainability Office? We have invited them to present their daily work and challenges to make our university more sustainable. Do you have an idea on how to improve our university? Then join us and take this opportunity to talk to them directly!
We are happy to organize fruitful discussions where you can bring your ideas how to change our work and research to make the CRC more sustainable.
We will also have a number of workshops, and we will finish with a barbecue and a quiz.
We will offer drinks and a vegetarian barbecue to all participants. You are welcome to bring your own meat/other food if you wish.
As we need to plan which room to use for which workshop and we need to buy the material for the insect hotel building we ask everyone to register for their preferred workshop.
Please indicate there as well whether you join for the barbecue and for the drinking so that we can buy the appropriate amounts.
https://sfb1601.astro.uni-koeln.de/sustainability/sustainability-bbq/
Eine Reise in die Dunkelheit – Andrina Nicola (12.09.24, Universität zu Köln)
Das Universum besteht zu 95 Prozent aus zwei mysteriösen, unsichtbaren Komponenten, der Dunklen Materie und der Dunklen Energie. Eines der Hauptziele der Kosmologie ist es, diesen Bestandteilen auf die Spur zu kommen und ihre Eigenschaften einzugrenzen. In diesem Vortrag werde ich die zugrundeliegenden Methoden erläutern und einen Überblick über die Durchmusterungen geben, die uns einen neuen Blick und neue Erkenntnisse über unser Universum geben werden.
A public talk during the Meeting of the Astronomical Society 2024
Andrina Nicola
Universität Bonn, Argelander Institut für Astronomie
Thursday, 12 September 2024, 20:00, Aula, University of Cologne
Space Debris – Art Exhibition by Iris Nitzl (09-13.09.24, University of Cologne)
September 9 to 13, during the Meeting of the Astronomical Society
“Space Debris” shows lanes of debris found in the earth’s orbits – more than 130 million pieces.
According to the IADC a critical point is reached (Kessler syndrome) and a chain reaction of collisions begins causing more and more garbage objects.
Science Communication Seminar
Our science is often not visible to the public because we don’t know how to present in properly.
With the help of the UoC press department we are aiming to change that.
A first seminar about science communication will be on Monday, June 24 at 3 pm (regular colloquium time). All PH1 or SFB1601-members are invited to join, there is no registration necessary.
Leuchtstoffraum 2, Kleinmann-Low 16.1 channel sound installation – Julian Rohrhuber & Volker Ossenkopf-Okada (18.04.24, Weltkunstzimmer Düsseldorf)
AUSSTELLUNG
DÜSSELDORF — WELTKUNSTZIMMER
Öffnungszeiten: Do–So 14–18 h
Eröffnung • 18. April 2024 / 19.00 h
The Kleinmann-Low nebula in the Orion is a location of intense star formation with a complex spatial and chemical dynamic. Its radiation originates from finely distributed atoms and molecules, which in the light of the young stars emit a characteristic spectrum. The piece „Leuchtstoffraum“ is informed by the unusually precise measurements of the Herschel space telescope from 2010. It is based on the simple principle that the natural laws are the same on earth as in the nebula 1300 light years away. We hear the structure of electromagnetic radiation of a minute point in the sky whose frequencies may be partitioned into series of molecule spectra, known from the laboratory. Leuchtstoffraum 2 is an outcome of a collaboration between Julian Rohrhuber, professor at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf, with the astro-physicist PD Dr. Volker Ossenkopf-Okada, who teaches at I. Physikalische Institut of the University, Cologne.
www.JulianRohrhuber
wertlos.org/~rohrhuber
youtube:VolkerOssendorf-Okada
Die Entstehung von Sternen und Planetensystemen – Stefanie Walch-Gassner (22.02.24, Volkssternwarte Köln)
Am 22. März um 20:00 Uhr in der Volkssternwarte Köln (Theaterkeller des Schiller-Gymnasiums)
Unsere kosmische Umgebung ist geprägt von unzähligen Sternen, die in den Tiefen des Weltraums entstehen. Doch wie genau formen sich diese strahlenden Himmelskörper, und wie entstehen die Planetensysteme, die sie umgeben?
In diesem Vortrag werden wir uns auf eine Reise durch die Geburt von Sternen begeben und die komplexen Prozesse erkunden, die zur Entstehung neuer Planetensysteme führen.
Wir werden erfahren, dass Sternentstehung in gigantischen Gas- und Staubwolken stattfindet, in denen Gravitationskräfte und elektromagnetische Strahlung eine Schlüsselrolle spielen. Wir werden uns mit der Kollapsphase bis zur Geburt eines leuchtenden Sterns auseinandersetzen sowie die Entstehung von Planeten und deren Anordnung in einer Vielzahl von Planetensystemen erforschen.
Online-Tickets: 7 € / 4 € (Erm. für Studierende): https://pretix.eu/volkssternwartekoeln.de Vereinsmitglieder genießen für ihren Jahresbeitrag 60 € / 30 € (Erm. für Studierende) freien Eintritt bei allen unseren Veranstaltungen! (Ihre Online-Tickets reservieren dann nur Plätze)
Vortrag in der Volkssternwarte
Vortrag von Slawa Kabanovich (PH1): Sternentstehung im Eiltempo – Fliegende Sternwarte SOFIA liefert überraschende Ergebnisse
Beobachtungen des ionisierten Kohlenstoffs mit dem upGREAT (German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz) an Bord des deutsch-amerikanischen Stratosphärenteleskops SOFIA (Stratosphären-Observatorium für Infrarot-Astronomie) haben gezeigt, dass HII-Regionen sich rasch ausdehnen können, angetrieben durch den Sternenwind. Die Kompression des umgebenden interstellaren Materials initiiert die Entstehung neuer Sterne. Dabei konnten wir feststellen, dass die Sternentstehung auf viel kürzeren Zeitskalen erfolgen kann, als bisher angenommen wurde. Die Beobachtung des ionisierten Kohlenstoffs war ausschließlich durch SOFIA möglich, da die [CII]-Linie vom Erdboden aus nicht beobachtbar ist. Die analysierten Daten ermöglichten es uns, die Bildung interstellarer Wolken zu untersuchen, und darüber hinaus den Einfluss massereicher Sterne auf das interstellare Medium zu erforschen.
Monatsvortrag am 24.11.2023 um 20:00 Uhr in der Volkssternwarte Köln:
Adresse:
Volkssternwarte Köln
Nikolausstraße 55
50937 Köln
Normales Ticket Monatsvortrag 7,00 €
Ermäßigtes Ticket Monatsvortrag 4,00 € (Für Schüler und Studenten)
Ticket-Shop hier: https://pretix.eu/volkssternwartekoeln.de/2023-11-24/
Parent-Child Room
The New Parent-Child Room is open!
To create a family friendly environment the Physics Department at the University of Cologne has set up a parent-child room supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The room offers a back-up option for combining work and child care in case of urgency, e. g. gaps in child care or in exceptional circumstances.