International Conference on the occasion of the 375th birthday of Christiaan Huygens, (born 14 April 1629)

In the 17th century, Christiaan Huygens was one of the most respected leading European scientists.

He was the first to be what we would today call "scientific director" of the Académie Française.

A highlight in his career was the discovery of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, in 1655

 

    TITAN CONFERENCE PUBLIC DAY

    Saturday 17th April is a public outreach day aimed at the amateur astronomy community. They will have the opportunity to present, in the forms of posters or exhibits, their latest observations of Saturn and Titan. This will take place in room Newton of the conference centre at ESTEC.

    Because there is no regular bus transport between Leiden and ESTEC during weekends, a special bus for participants arriving by public transport will depart from Leiden central station at 09:15. This bus will be marked: ‘Titan-ESTEC’.

    REGISTRATION

    Please register, using the registration form. Price for the public day only: 15 Euro for individuals, 25 Euro for families

    Please be aware that pre-registration is required to gain access to the ESTEC site. Persons who are not registered will not be granted access. As only limited space is available for the Open Day, we advise you to register early, and not later than 15 April 2004.

    Family Registration
    For family registration, please choose the event "family registration" from the event list after you have given your name details. For each member of your family who will join you, please make a separate registration and choose the event "family member". A badge will then be available for all members of your family when arriving at ESTEC.

    Presenting your findings
    During the Public Day, posterboards and tables are available to present the results of observations and other activities by individual and groups of amateur astronomers. For details of how to take part, please contact: esa.conference.bureau@esa.int with reference: 17/4 public day.

    PROGRAMME

    Saturday 17 April – Public day

    09:00Registration and hanging of posters etc.
    10:00Welcome and coffee
    10:30Huygens and his timesA. van Helden
    11:00Huygens and his telescopesP. Louwman
    11:20Robotic exploration of the outer planets, a historical perspectiveT. Johnson
    11:50Titan halosG. Konnen
    12:20Huygens and the search for life in the UniverseT. Owen
    12:50Lunch
    14:00The Cassini/Huygens education and outreach programmeJPL
    15:00Public involvement in Planetary ExplorationE. Lakdawalla
    15:30ESA’s Education and Outreach Programme related to Cassini/HuygensESA
    16:30Contributions by amateur observers
    18:00End
    21:00 to 23:00Saturn and Titan viewing at Katwijk and Sterrewacht Leiden

    OBSERVATION OF SATURN

    At the end of the day, subject to a clear sky, the ESTEC Astronomy Club invites interested participants to join them observing Saturn and its moons with their telescopes from a dark location in Katwijk.

    At the same time, the Working Group ‘Leidse Sterrewacht’ invites interested participants to join them at the old university observatory in Leiden, to observe Saturn using the still perfectly functioning 19th century telescopes that are available there.

    From Noordwijk a bus will be available at 20:45 to take participants to the observation site in Katwijk.

    Participants interested in going to the Observatory in Leiden are advised to take bus 40 or 42 to Leiden. The Saturday timetable of these buses and a map with the location of the Observatory is available at the conference desk.

    RELATED MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS

    At four locations in the ESTEC region, special attention is being paid to Christiaan Huygens in the form of exhibitions, open from 8 April until 31 May 2004, collectively entitled: Christiaan Huygens, Facets of a Genius. The four exhibitions are:

      The man – Huygensmuseum Hofwijck, Voorburg
      The manuscripts – University Library Leiden
      The moon and ring – Museum Boerhaave, Leiden
      The mission – Space Expo, Noordwijk

    During the public day there will be an opportunity to buy a ticket for admission to the four museums, together with a free copy of the associated booklet ‘Christiaan Huygens, Facets of a Genius’ (in English or Dutch), for €10.

    Click here for more information about the exhibitions (in English and Dutch).