“Space is at your fingertips, even when you're sitting on the couch”

The 8th Silesian Science Festival takes place on December 7-9 at the International Congress Center in Katowice. – You can say that space is now at your fingertips, even when you're sitting on the couch – said Karol Wójcicki, popularizer of astronomy and author of the blog “With your head in the stars”, during the festival. Although modern technologies allow you to admire space without leaving home, Wójcicki also encouraged people to try to experience these phenomena live.

– Of course, I try to encourage people to go out into the open sky, look up and experience it all live. But if someone does not have this opportunity, technology allows for live broadcasts from places such as the poles or rocket launch sites; you can observe cosmic phenomena that take place far from us. Thanks to this, everyone can participate in these events from their own home – explained Wójcicki.

According to the author of the blog “With your head in the stars”, astronomy is one of the sciences in which “the entry threshold is very low”. We do not need specialized equipment or trips to distant corners of the world to start our adventure with space. – Often, it is enough to leave the house, look out from the balcony, even look out the window, and we can see many fascinating phenomena – explained Wójcicki.

One of the most interesting phenomena that Wójcicki talked about is the observation of the aurora borealis. It turns out that they can be seen more and more often in Poland. – The years 2024 and 2025 are the time when the sun reaches its maximum activity, which in turn results in a more frequent occurrence of aurora borealis in lower latitudes, including here, he said. Wójcicki emphasized that it is worth knowing when and where to observe these types of phenomena in order to fully enjoy them. For this purpose, there are special mobile applications and modern technologies that facilitate astronomical observations nowadays. – If someone wants to know what is in the sky at any given moment, mobile applications can help discover it. These are technologies that allow us to understand many phenomena that would otherwise be difficult to recognize, he added. He also mentioned modern telescopes that search for objects in the sky themselves, taking photos and sending them to users' smartphones. This is a solution for people who want to start their adventure with astronomy without the need to have specialized skills.

Although many people think that space observations are only possible outside the city, Karol Wójcicki reminded that many phenomena can be seen even in urban conditions.

– Of course, in cities the lights can be disturbing, but some phenomena, such as bright planets or the flights of the international space station, are clearly visible even from a city balcony – he added, also encouraging people to travel outside the cities, where conditions for admiring the stars are much better. – Astronomy is for everyone, regardless of level of knowledge or access to equipment. Sometimes it is enough to simply start observing with the unaided eye, sometimes to photograph phenomena or use technology to understand what is happening in the sky – concluded Wójcicki.