Night of Darkness

What happens when we turn off the lights for once?\n\nDuring the Nacht van de Duisternis we literally put the dark side of the night in the spotlight. Because true darkness is becoming increasingly rare. Street lighting, buildings, advertising panels… together they ensure that our nights are getting brighter and brighter. And that has more consequences than you might think.\n\nWe start the evening together with a lecture on light pollution. Afterward, we split the group in two: while one half heads into the darkness for a guided walk, the other half gazes upward during an observation moment. At 9:00 PM we swap roles.\n\nThis way everyone gets to experience the lecture, the walk, and the observation moment during the evening.\n\n7:00 PM – Lecture: Light pollution, an invisible impact on humans and nature\n\nHow dark is it actually at night anymore? Light pollution not only disrupts our view of the starry sky. Humans, animals, and nature also experience the consequences of too much or poorly directed artificial light. But can we just turn off the light? And how do we find a good balance between darkness and safety?\n\nEric Grosemans, lifelong admirer of the night sky and founder of Leve(n) de Nacht vzw, takes you into the story behind light pollution. Where does it come from, what does it do to our environment, and above all: what can we do about it?\n\nFrom 8:00 PM – Into the darkness and gaze upward\n\nAfter the lecture, we divide the participants into two groups of a maximum of 50 people.\n\nGroup 1\n\n8:00 PM – 9:00 PM: nocturnal walk\n\n9:00 PM – 10:00 PM: observation\n\nGroup 2\n\n8:00 PM – 9:00 PM: observation\n\n9:00 PM – 10:00 PM: nocturnal walk\n\nDuring the walk you will experience how different Kattevennen becomes when the light disappears. During the observation moment, we head to the observation terrace and the observatory and, weather permitting, point our telescopes at the night sky.\n\nA single ticket thus gives you access to the complete program: lecture + walk + observation.\n\nJust stargazing? That's possible for free\n\nDon't want to follow the lecture and walk, but want to come stargazing for a bit? From 8:00 PM you can join the public observation moment for free. You do not need to buy a ticket for the evening program for this.