In Green Bank, Virginia are some giant radio telescopes which astronomers use to study objects deep in space. Because these telescopes are built to capture very faint redio signals, the area around the observatory is officially a 'radio-quiet' zone, without WiFi, radio or Cell signal. Photographers Andrew Phelps en Paul Kranzler visited the Green Bank region and it's inhabitants and composed a very special exhibition.
A few times a week items will be posted on this web page that are related to this exhibition in the Old Observatory. The exhibition itself is closed for the time being because of the corona virus.

Leiden University follows up on the advice of the RIVM and Rijksoverheid and takes new measures to minimize the spread of the corona virus Covid 19. Because of that, the Old Observatory will close until March 31st. All events will be cancelled an guided tours cannot continue either. We are sorry for the inconvenience. If the situation improves sooner than expected we will share that information on this web page.

If you signed up for any events or booked a private tour in this period, you will be contacted as soon as possible.

February 29 and 1 march 2020

30 Years of Pale Blue Dot - 14 February 2020, Kaiserzaal, Old Observatory - The Pale Blue Dot Symposium is an event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the iconic picture showing the Earth as a tiny speck in the vastness of space and to discuss its impact on humankind. At the end of the symposium, the brand new exhibition, 'Living in the shadow of radio telescopes and the Drake Equation', will be officially opened.

January is the final month of our temporary exhibition 'Above and Beyond: Making Sense of the Universe for 100 Years'. You can visit every weekend until Jauary 26th.

Starting April 13 a brand new exhibition is open for visit, titled 'Above and Beyond: Making Sense of the Universe for 100 Years

This Saturday will be the first Kaiser Spring Lecture of this year! - A series of public lectures on Astronomy in the Old Observatory.

On Sunday 28 October, the annual open day of the Old Observatory in Leiden takes place. During this day everyone can visit the Old Observatory for free and enjoy activities in this historic building.

On 16 May the first International Day of Light was celebrated all around the globe. Initiated by UNESCO, organisations in 87 different countries set up a total of more than 600 events to embrace the vital role of light and related technologies in science. In the Old Observatory in Leiden visitors could learn more about light by doing their own experiments.

After a period of maintenance, the 'Photographer' telescope is available once again for visits at the Old Observatory.