Plasma, particles, and astrophysics– in the beginning glimpse, these terms might sound abstract. However, the brand-new planetarium show “Our Unique Universe” proves that the outcomes of these research study disciplines can be visually sensational. Scientists from the RAPP Center established and executed the program together with the team at the Bochum Planetarium to celebrate the center’s tenth anniversary. In the brand-new show, visitors embark on a fascinating journey of discovery to extreme places of deep space. They find themselves in the midst of the residues of a star explosion, see galaxies glowing in radio light, and experience how a star is torn apart at the edge of an enormous great void.
“We are extremely happy to be able to provide our work in this manner and make it available to a wide audience,” states Teacher Julia Tjus, director of the RAPP Center and Teacher of Physics at Ruhr University Bochum. “A number of the images revealed were taken by the scientists themselves, for instance with telescopes in Antarctica, on La Palma, or at CERN.” The production at the Bochum Planetarium was made possible through financing from the German Research Foundation (DFG): The research provided in the program is part of the Collaborative Proving Ground 1491 “Cosmic Communicating Matter– From Source to Signify”. Beginning in 2026, it will also be showcased in other cities and abroad.
Cooperation at the RAPP-Center
At the joint research facility of the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr), the 3 partner universities have actually been merging their proficiency in particle, astro, and plasma physics and have actually been working together with partners from the University of Wuppertal since 2015. From TU Dortmund University, the research groups of Teacher Johannes Albrecht, Teacher Kevin Kröninger, and Professor Wolfgang Rhode from the Department of Physics, as well as Professor Jens Teubner’s group from the Department of Computer Science Department become part of the RAPP Center.
At the research center, scientists are examining subjects such as the origin of cosmic rays, how magnetic fields are produced in deep space, and the nature of dark matter and neutrino particles. In the future, the center plans to develop new research top priorities in the field of artificial intelligence. In addition, it will widen its research to collision-dominated plasmas in which collisions between gas particles take place. These play a significant function in astrophysics in certain places, near the Sun or in molecular clouds, and can be studied in the laboratory. The universities in Bochum, Dortmund, and Duisburg-Essen, which have been cooperating in the UA Ruhr since 2007, aim to team up even more carefully in this area.
About the Program