Lecture by Govert Schilling: The miracle of an eclipse

The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra provides its concertgoers with food for thought throughout the year, with an extensive programme of extracurricular activities around the concerts and the seasonal theme.

No celestial phenomenon is as impressive and overwhelming as a total solar eclipse. Dutch science journalist and astronomy author Govert Schilling has experienced many of them, and never tires of them. In the middle of the day, it goes dark for a few minutes, and all of nature is under the spell of the cosmos. In his lecture, Schilling will introduce you to all facets of an eclipse, from primitive superstition to modern science, and show how artists and composers over the centuries have been inspired by the miraculous phenomenon. Besides solar eclipses, lunar eclipses will also be covered, and Schilling describes how ‘mini-eclipses’ of other, distant suns give us insight into the dynamics of the universe.

Lecture in Dutch. Free, reservation required.