2026 Visitor Season

We would like to inform you about the visitors' program at the Radio Observatory Effelsberg. Public talks are offered to groups from 10 up to a maximum of 80 people in a pavilion at the observatory site. Normally they will be held in German, English talks are possible on request.

In May 2026, talks will take place on the following dates at 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m.:
May 2, May 6, May 8, May 9, May 13, May 15, May 22, and May 29.
In addition, talks at 10:00 a.m. will be offered on the following days: May 16, May 20, May 23.
Talks at 1:00 p.m. will be offered on the following days: May 23, May 30
Talks at 3:00 p.m. will be offered on the following days: May 16, May 30

Advance registration is required for talks in June. You can register by email or phone:

public@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
Phone: +49 2257-301-101 (Monday to Thursday: 8 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Friday: 8 a.m. – 12 a.m.)

(There are no talks on Sundays, Mondays, and on public holidays.)

Keep in mind that the regular talks will be normally held in German!

For the talks we ask for a fee of 2 Euro for adults and 1 Euro for children and pupils. We regret that credit cards cannot be accepted.

For technical reasons and last but not least for security regulations there are no guided tours or visits to the interior of the Observatory and the telescope itself possible.

There is no public road directly to the observatory! However, there is good access to the public park site (labeled "Radioteleskop Effelsberg"). From there, an easy walk of 10-15 minutes leads to the visitors' building (pavilion).

The radio telescopes of the Effelsberg observatory (100-m telescope and Effelsberg LOFAR station) are extremely sensitive receivers for the measurement of extremely weak radio signals from astronomical sources in the distant universe. Man-made radio interference can cause significant problems with the observations.

We therefore ask to switch off mobile phones, notebooks and other electronical devices either completely or to operate them in flight mode.

Additional Resources

There is a new display installed at the courtyard of the visitors' pavilion, presenting two movies. One is about science with the 100m radio telescope, the other movie shows a virtual tour to the top of the telescope. The science movie is accessible in both, German and English language.