Public evening lectures at the Zweibrücken campus of Kaiserslautern/Pirmasens/Zweibrücken University of Applied Sciences
The events are held in German.
Upcoming events
Friday, August 28, 2026, Partial Lunar Eclipse for Early Risers, Zweibrücken Observatory
The partial solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, will be followed by a partial lunar eclipse in the early morning hours of August 28.
Solar and lunar eclipses often occur in pairs, and a little over two weeks after the solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, a lunar eclipse awaits us on August 28. The viewing conditions in Germany will be very similar, albeit with the opposite scenario: The eclipse will take place low on the western horizon, and parts of it will occur only after the Moon has set—not in the evening, however, but at dawn, as shown in the image.
In Zweibrücken, the moon sets at 6:48 a.m. and the sun rises at 6:40 a.m. on August 28.
Past events
Wednesday, August 12, 2026; Zweibrücken Observatory, Nationwide Long Night of Astronomy!
The total Solar eclipse On August 12, 2026, the action took place over Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and the Arctic Ocean and the northern Atlantic Ocean . In German-speaking countries, it was visible as a partial solar eclipse. In Zweibrücken, the eclipse magnitude was 89%.
At 7:21 p.m., the Moon began to cover the Sun. The eclipse reached its maximum at 8:15 p.m. The eclipse ended at 8:52 p.m., after the Sun had already set. To celebrate the Long Night of Astronomy and the partial solar eclipse, we opened our observatory from 6:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
There were 500–600 visitors on the hill at the observatory, including many children, who watched the event. Many watched the eclipse through SOFI glasses on the screen by the observatory door, and there was a long line to view it through the refracting solar telescope in the H-α line with a Fabry-Perot filter and through the C14 reflecting telescope. Many of the visitors stayed afterward to watch the Perseid meteor shower. It was a clear night with good „seeing,“ as astronomers call it.
See also Photo Gallery.
Wednesday, 27.05.2026, 19:00, Audimax and livestream
The Inquisition trial against Galileo Galilei - The difficult relationship between reason and religion
Pierre Leich, President of the Simon Marius Society, Nuremberg
Despite indisputable evidence for the heliocentric view of the world, Galileo Galilei was admonished by the Vatican in 1616 and accused and convicted of heresy in 1633. This is the popular summary of the trial. Galileo is often regarded today as the „Holy Virgin of Orleans of the natural sciences“. But how should his proofs of the Copernican doctrine be assessed from today's perspective? How could an astronomical theory cause such an uproar at the time of the Thirty Years' War and what was really the cause of the conflict with the Church?
Pierre Leich studied philosophy with a focus on the philosophy and history of science. In his lecture, he will talk about a brilliant researcher who changed the way the world was viewed at the time.
Further information :
https://www.art-und-friedrich.de/persons.php?person=10
https://pl-visit.net/index.php?hauptnav=privat&unternav=veroeffentlichungen
https://pl-visit.net/index.php?hauptnav=privat&unternav=aktivitaeten
Wednesday, 29.04.2026, 19:00, Audimax and livestream
Human 2.0 - Do people need an upgrade?
Dr. Verena Lütschg, About Tomorrow Consulting, Baden, Switzerland
Chips in the brain that connect our thoughts to the internet. Gene scissors that eradicate hereditary diseases or create designer babies. Prostheses that can do more than the original, and „inhuman“ senses that open up completely new worlds for us. What was science fiction just a few years ago is already becoming reality in laboratories around the world. Transhumanism promises nothing less than the overcoming of biological limits: a longer, smarter and more efficient life.
But who determines what a „better“ person is? Will enhancement become the privilege of the rich? And if we can optimize everything about ourselves, what is left of being human?
This lecture takes you on a journey to the boundary between man and machine, between medical progress and technological hubris. It shows what is already possible today, what could come tomorrow and why the most important questions are not technical but ethical. Expect no easy answers, but lively discussion, surprising insights and questions that will stay with you.
Verena Lütschg holds a doctorate in molecular biology and has worked in international management consultancies, companies and think tanks. Today, she runs her own technology consultancy „About Tomorrow Consulting“ in Zurich and specializes in knowledge transfer, technological innovations and their social impact.
Further information:
https://www.about-tomorrow.com
⭐ Saturday, 18.04.2026, 10 am - 3 pm, Zweibrücken Observatory
Open Campus Day at Zweibrücken University of Applied Sciences
On the Open Campus Day at Zweibrücken University of Applied Sciences, 18.4.2026, 10 am - 3 pm, members of NAWI e.V. will explain the function and operation of the observatory and telescopes. If the sky is clear, visitors can observe the sun. Keywords: structure of the sun, nuclear fusion, 11-year Swabian periodicity, sunspots, polarity reversal of the magnetic field, heliosphere, effects on our planetary system.
Two lectures will also be offered:
Campus HS Zweibrücken, 11 a.m., Room A 136; 30 min. each.
1 Prof. Dr. W. Arnold: What can be observed with the observatory of the NAWI e.V. on the HS campus?
Based on the observations of the interstellar comet 3I/Atlas and the double quasar Q0957 + 561A/B, the conditions under which this is possible with our amateur observatory are discussed. The observations make it possible to personally experience Kepler's laws and the concepts of escape velocity, curvature of the light path in strong gravitational fields and the use of a quasar as an astronomical microscope.
2 Dr. Rolf-Dieter Schad : The closest star - our sun
Without the sun, eight planets could not have formed and life could not have developed on earth. This seems quite unique, and yet almost all the points of light that can be seen in the night sky are, from a physical point of view, also suns.
How was it created? How is it constructed? Where does it get its energy from? What can be observed with certainty, even with very simple means? What will be its fate in the future?
Wednesday, 08.04.2026, 19:00, Audimax and livestream
The Giotto probe's flyby of Halley's comet
Dr. Gerhard Schwehm, former manager at ESA
A special kind of encounter: 40 years ago, on the night of March 13-14, 1986, Giotto passed Halley's Comet at a distance of just 600 km. It was ESA's first interplanetary mission; a huge success for European science. The probe delivered the first image of a comet nucleus. The Giotto mission provided many new insights into the composition of comets and the interaction of comets with the interplanetary medium.
Why are comets so fascinating? Why have scientists dreamed of a mission to a comet since the beginning of the space age?
Dr. Gerhard Schwehm, former project scientist for the Giotto mission at ESA, will give an overview of the background to the mission and the technological challenges in his lecture. He will show how this mission shaped comet research. He will also share some personal memories with the audience, giving an impression of how fascinating it is to be involved in such a project.
Further information:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halleyscher_Komet
Livestream:
Of course, we are looking forward to welcoming as many guests as possible, but we will offer those who do not have the opportunity to come to Zweibrücken the opportunity to follow our lectures live via the Internet. The livestream will be online from approx. 18:45 on the day of the lecture and can also be accessed from outside the university (without registration or access data).
The link is the same for all presentations and reads:
Astronomy Day on March 28, 2026
On the nationwide Astronomy Day 2026, observatories, planetariums, research institutes, museums, schools and individuals (organizers throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland) are once again inviting people to explore the world of stars with their own eyes. The program includes the gas giant Jupiter with its four large moons, our sister planet Venus and a large moon formation, the so-called Golden Handle.
The Naturwissenschaftliche Verein zu Zweibrücken NAWI e.V. opens its observatory from 19:00 to 23:00. If the sky is cloudy, we will explain our observatory and the instruments we use.
Admission is free, advance registration is not necessary.
Wednesday, 14.01.2026, 19:00, Audimax and livestream
Dr. Christoph Endres, sequire technology GmbH, Saarbrücken
AI between protective shield and offensive weapon
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing our world, it is both a tool and a weapon: AI can protect us from cyber attacks or be misused by attackers.
AI systems consist not only of software, but also of data and complex models that offer new areas of attack - for example through manipulated training data or targeted deception. They can analyze huge amounts of data, detect suspicious patterns at an early stage and thus help to ward off attacks before damage is done. However, AI can also be used by cyber criminals, for example to generate deceptively real phishing emails or for automated hacks.
The presentation will show how AI systems can be secured, how they contribute to defense and why they also pose new risks.
Dr. Christoph Endres is a computer scientist with over 20 years of professional experience in AI research. He is Managing Director of sequire technology GmbH, a small Saarbrücken-based company that focuses on the security of AI systems. He also teaches AI in a university environment at the Scheer School for Digital Sciences, heads an expert group for AI security in cooperation with the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and is a cybersecurity expert at the German Federal Network Agency.
Further information:
Of course, we are looking forward to welcoming as many guests as possible, but we will offer those who do not have the opportunity to come to Zweibrücken the opportunity to follow our lectures live via the Internet. The livestream will be online from approx. 18:45 on the day of the lecture and can also be accessed from outside the university (without registration or access data). The link is the same for all lectures:
Astronomy Day
Since the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, NAWI has been participating regularly in the activities of the Astronomy Day
Open Campus
On the university's annual "OpenCampus" day, we open the observatory if the weather is suitable. We explain how the technology and telescopes work and can offer the following observations:
- Observations of the sun with its spots, granules, and prominences with our H-alpha telescope and other telescopes.
- Observations of planets and even stars during daytime if conditions permit.