Brighter than a billion suns: the biggest explosions in the universe

Public evening lecture with Prof. Dr. Stefan Wagner, DZA
Date: Sept. 18th, 2025
Time: 8 pm (until approx. 9:30 p.m.)
Venue: Kulturforum Görlitzer Synagogue, Otto-Müller-Straße 3, 02826 Görlitz

The universe is ancient and appears constant and unchangeable.

Modern telescopes and precise instruments show astrophysicists that the cosmos is in reality very variable. Variable stars, nova explosions and supernova eruptions influence the entire universe in many ways and are now also used as astronomical tools.

In recent times, however, mega-explosions such as hypernovae, gamma ray eruptions or the swallowing of entire stars through black holes have also been observed. Much of these brightest explosions in the cosmos are still mysterious.

The 'restless universe' is the motto of the meeting of the Astronomical Society, which will take place in Görlitz in September 2025. The topic is the astronomy of the time domain, which will also be a research focus at the German Centre for Astrophysics (DZA) in Görlitz.

Professor Stefan Wagner, spokesman for the astrophysics department at the DZA with a research focus on radio astronomy, presents the 'Changeable Universe' with its fantastic discoveries up to the brightest explosions in the cosmos since the Big Bang.