Cosmos observatory — Attraction in Dinkelland

We had a great time at the Cosmos Observatory. Our guide was Ernesto Lopez, who was really nice, is multilingual and knows a lot about the universe. Also, we were at the observatory during the day. We started with the movie, which lasts about half a hour. Even though this maybe seems long, it is impressing what the movie explains in those 30 minutes. And we definitely learned some new stuff from the movie. Apparently there are a couple of versions of the movie, depending on the public (adults, kids 8+ and kids younger than 8). We saw the adult version. After the movie Ernesto took us (and some other visitors) to the Planetarium, which was very impressive. On a ceiling shaped like a dome the universe is projected. With the computer Ernesto had the option to switch between day and night or travel in time. He showed us the constellations which are best to see in the Netherlands. Also he gave us some reference points, so it's easier to find constellations and even planets like Mars. Next in the tour we went to the roof of the observatory to look at the sun with a special telescope (see photos). Though we only saw just a big yellow circular shape, if you're lucky you you get to see dark spots on the sun (which are explosions on the sun). The last part of the tour was the dome where the telescope itself is. Ernesto explained us how the telescope and dome work, which hides more technology than you may expect. TIP: if you want to spot starts, visit the observatory on a Saturday evening. Personally I would definitely pay another visit to the Cosmos observatory somewhere in the future. I loved the passion Ernesto has for the universe and...

Whilst we knew all talks would be in Dutch, there was no effort in even trying to acknowledge our group of seven non Dutch speaking visitors. Not a word English spoken. On top there were no stars to be seen due to clouds, of which there was no prewarning when we paid. Unless you speak Dutch, do not waste your time, unless they...

Going here was one of the best birthday presents I've ever gotten. This is a great place for everyone, young and old, who is interested in Astronomy. Many thanks to the team there who made it a really entertaining and interesting evening and telling about the marvels of space with...