Cosmic Chemistry

What’s the next frontier in astrochemistry?
What is astrochemistry?
And how will the giant James Webb Space Telescope enhance our knowledge on the interstellar space and the building blocks of life in space?

We will get the answer to these questions, and many more, as Planetarium proudly welcomes Professor Ewine van Dishoeck, newly awarded winner of the prestigious Niels Bohr International Gold Medal.

Professor Ewine van Dishoeck is one of the leading figures in the field of astrochemistry worldwide and is claimed to be the most cited molecular astrophysicists in the world.

She has made major contributions to our understanding of the physics and chemistry governing interstellar space and early phases of star and planet formation at the molecular level.

Professor van Dishoeck’s work aim at clarifying some of the major questions of mankind such as how our solar system was formed and what molecular starting conditions are necessary for the origin of life.

Indeed, in a recent research paper van Dishoeck and co-workers demonstrated that the building blocks of life can be formed under the extreme conditions – low temperature and pressure – found in interstellar space.

This evening, Professor Dishoeck will not do an ordinary lecture, but a full-blown Planetarium Show with the use of Digistar 7, Planetariums digital system, which has the newest data and pictures from telescopes and deep space missions.

After Professor Ewine van Dishoeck’s presentation follows a screening of the movie “Unseen Universe”, which shows us how state-of-the-art telescopes are used in the quest for expanding our knowledge of our Universe.

About the Niels Bohr International Gold Medal

The Niels Bohr International Gold Medal was established in 1955, in the occasion of Niels Bohr’s 70^th birthday. The Danish physicist was the first recipient of the medal, which has since been awarded 12 times.
Winners of the Niels Bohr International Gold Medal should be active researchers, working in fields related to Niels Bohr’s research areas, as well as doing research with potential to be applied for the benefit of humanity.

Among the medal holders are physicists Richard P. Feynman and Werner Heisenberg, as well as chemist George de Hevesy. Joining them now is astrochemist Ewine van Dishoeck, who will also be the first woman to receive the medal.