The sun has been making headlines more frequently. We are seeing more solar flares, the Northern Lights are reaching as far as southern France, and major eruptions are disrupting satellites.

These are all signs of high solar activity, which is also clearly visible through telescopes. Groups of dark sunspots are scattered across the surface of the sun, and loops of prominences protrude from its edges.

The 2024-2025 season is therefore dedicated to the Solar Cycle. This year, we are reaching the peak of this 11-year cycle, and we are eager to educate our audience more about the sun's fluctuation between periods of higher and lower activity, how this was discovered, and what we experience from it here on Earth.

In the first months of 2025, many planets are visible in our sky at the same time. This makes it an exciting season at the Copernicus Observatory.

Saturn and Jupiter have both been visible since October and are the two most beautiful planets to observe. Saturn will no longer be visible by the end of January, but Jupiter will remain high in the sky until summer.

Mars is gradually rising higher in the eastern sky, but it will only look impressive through our telescope under truly good weather conditions. Mars, too, will remain visible until summer.

Venus is climbing higher in the western sky. Shortly after sunset, Venus appears as a very, very bright star. Through the telescope, Venus can only be observed in the early evening, where it appears as a small crescent.