Five Great Weekend Ideas: Astronomy Days and Double Face Ensemble Concert
The Journées de l’astronomie returned to Strasbourg this weekend, featuring public observation sessions, lectures, and a special performance by the musical ensemble Double Face at the Planetarium of Strasbourg’s Université de Strasbourg.
The event, held from April 5 to April 7, 2024, brought together amateur astronomers, researchers, and families for guided stargazing using telescopes set up in the Orangerie park and at the planetarium dome. Organizers reported over 3,000 attendees across the three days, with peak attendance on Saturday evening during the observation of Jupiter and its moons.
On Saturday night, the ensemble Double Face performed an original composition titled “Résonances Célestes,” blending electronic textures with live cello and voice, inspired by data sonifications of pulsar signals and cosmic microwave background radiation. The performance took place inside the planetarium’s 15-meter dome, where the visual projection shifted in real time with the music’s frequency spectrum.
According to the planetarium’s public outreach coordinator, the concert was designed to make astrophysical phenomena accessible through sensory experience, following a model tested during the 2023 Nuit des Étoiles festival in Lyon. No recordings of the performance were made available for public distribution.
In addition to the concert, the Journées included talks on exoplanet detection methods by researchers from the Strasbourg Observatory, a workshop on building low-cost spectroscopes for high school students, and a展览 of astrophotography submitted by local amateurs, featuring images of the Orion Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy.
The event received logistical support from the City of Strasbourg’s culture department and the Grand Est regional authority, which provided funding for equipment rentals, and staffing. No official statements were issued by national space agencies regarding the event.
As of Monday morning, the planetarium confirmed that its regular public schedule would resume on Wednesday, with the next themed evening focused on spring constellations scheduled for April 18. No further details about future collaborations between the planetarium and Double Face have been announced.