Watchlist | Dark(ness) Matters

December is het ideale moment om zowel het belang van licht als duisternis onder de loep te nemen. De dagen worden steeds korter en de langste nacht is weer in aantocht. Tijdens de excursie In het duister op 1 december en in het Kenniscafé | In het licht op 15 december. Licht is namelijk van levensbelang, maar is duisternis niet minstens net zo belangrijk? We doken daarom ons archief in op zoek naar duisternis: over duistere tijden, lange nachten en donkere materie.

December is the ideal time to take a closer look at both the importance of light and darkness. The days are getting shorter and shorter and the longest night is on its way. During the excursion In het duister on 1 December and in the Kenniscafé | In het licht on December 15. Light is of vital importance, but isn't darkness at least as important? We delved into our archive in search of darkness: about dark times, long nights and dark matter.

Dark Forces in the Invisible Universe
Magnetic fields are elusive, we cannot see them directly - only the effect of the forces they exert on other things. What is the effect that cosmic magnetic fields have on matter in the Universe? In this Blaauw Lecture, Anna Scaife talks about these dark forces in the invisible Universe. (11 October 2017). Watch recording

Kenniscafé | Trick or Treat?
Halloween is becoming increasingly popular in the Netherlands. You can dress up for a party or theme park, go see a horror movie or carve a jack-o-lantern. Where does the tradition of Halloween come from and what is it about nowadays? How did traditions like Halloween influence our image of what is dark and scary? And why do some have the irresistible urge to be spooked or shocked? (27 October 2022). Watch recording

Finding Solace in Dark Times
Writer and historian Michael Ignatieff looks back at the ways we have found hope and meaning in the past and how we might find it, for ourselves and for our communities, in the future (18 May 2022). Watch recording

Hibernation and Space Travel
Bats, hummingbirds and bears share one characteristic: they all hibernate. Professor of Pharmacology Rob Henning will address the strategies these animals deploy and will discuss recent advances in the understanding of the phenomena that underlie hibernation. (12 April 2016). Watch recording

Supermassive Black Holes: The Ultimate Galaxy Killers?
In this Hendrik de Waard Lecture, Rebecca Smethurst focusses on the conflict in astrophysical research between the actual observations in the Universe and the current best models of this Universe that researchers are working with. (29 November 2018). Watch recording

First Stop: Antarctica - Floris van den Berg
How can we prepare people for a journey to Mars? Family physician and expedition doctor Floris van den Berg worked 13 months on ‘White Mars’, 9 months of isolation with a 12 person overwinter group, temperatures as low as -80°C and no sun during the Polar Night of 100 days. (27 February 2017). Watch recording