This NL Space Week, step into the world of space researchers at the Space Research Organisation Netherlands (SRON) and the Kapteyn Institute! Join us for our Open Day in Groningen during the Zpannend Zernike science festival.
About the Open Day
Be amazed by planetarium shows in the mobile planetarium. Step into the shoes of a researcher with fun experiments. Enjoy eye-opening demonstrations and learn about our research through fascinating talks. There’s something new to discover for all ages.
Can you solder a satellite? Aim starlight into a camera? See yourself through a thermal imager? Want to learn how we search for a second Earth? Curious what a camera looks like that can see the birth of stars? Did you know that the camera searching for a second Earth was tested right here in our space simulator? Come and find out in Groningen!
You’re warmly invited to Zpannend Zernike Sunday, 5 October in Groningen.
What we do
From space, our telescopes look outward at stars, planets and black holes to understand how they work. But we also look back down at Earth’s atmosphere, to study our own climate. These space instruments are designed and built here at SRON, together with researchers from around the world.
Our telescopes can capture light that is difficult or even impossible to observe from the ground, because the atmosphere and clouds get in the way. This often involves special types of light invisible to the human eye, such as X-rays (also used by doctors to see your bones or teeth) and infrared light (which can reveal heat and cold).
Some space telescopes take wide surveys, others zoom in on a small area. Some can even read the hidden fingerprints of gases in light letting us detect invisible greenhouse gases, identify what kind of stardust fills the universe, measure temperature, and track its motion. Is it falling into a black hole? Or is heat from the black hole pushing it away? Is it exploding? Or cooling down and clumping together to form a new star?
During the Open Day, we’ll show how we design, test, and prepare these sensitive instruments for space missions.
Practical information
Open Day SRON & Kapteyn Groningen
Sunday 5 October, 12:00–17:00
Kapteynborg Building, Landleven 12, Zernike Campus Groningen
Our Groningen Open Day is part of the Zpannend Zernike science festival and the NL Space Week. A more detailed programme will be available later on the Zpannend Zernike Zondag website: https://zpannendzernike.nl/locatie/sron-en-kapteyn/
Did you know SRON also has another Open Day in Leiden?
Open Day SRON Leiden
Saturday 11 October, 11:00–16:00
SRON Building, Niels Bohrweg 4, Bio Science Park Leiden
Parking available in the Ehrenfestgarage on Ehrenfestweg.
The Leiden Open Day is also part of NL Space Week. Check our news page for updates. https://www.sron.nl/en/actueel/sron-open-days-on-5-and-11-october-2025/
There, the full programme will be announced later.
