Scan Magazine | Business Profile | Brorfelde Observatory
Grounds. Photo: Jonas Whitehorn
Blood moons and sun storms in the protected darkness The old Brorfelde astronomical observatory is thriving in its second incarnation, offering magical space exploration to everyone in the midst of a dark-sky preserve.
teach here. And we encourage you to go explore, look up to the sky, feel the grass.”
By Thomas Bech Hansen
To facilitate the best possible view towards stars, planets and meteors in outer space, the grounds were officially labelled a dark-sky preserve, meaning that no intrusive, artificial light sources can be installed nearby. Placed in the so-called Zealand alps, an Ice Age landscape, the observatory buildings and their surroundings provide a special feeling.
Bling! Plonk! Zoooooowap! Strange, robotic sounds accompany sights of barren landscapes with futuristic structures scattered about. Secretive scientists meander in tinfoil uniforms. The landscape surrounding Brorfelde Observatory, just some 15 minutes north of the E20 motorway, indeed provides food for the imagination and reminders of space-age fantasies of old. A working astronomical observatory from 1953 to 1996, the place reopened in 2016 86 | Issue 97 | February 2017
as an exploration centre open to visitors wishing to stargaze, wander in the surrounding hills and learn about the puzzles of the universe from the centre’s experts.
Look up to the skies “We want to feed people’s curiosity,” says Julie Bouchet, manager of Brorfelde Observatory. “We bring a small piece of space down to earth, so we can touch it and understand it better. Architecture, geology, technology, nature, astronomy – these are all components of what we
Feel the Brorfelde magic “The Brorfelde magic will get to you. The darkness here is protected, it is sacred. I believe the nature, architecture, telescopes and domes bring out a natural cu-