Dark matter and dark energy are among the greatest enigmas of modern science.
They shape the universe’s structure and evolution, yet their true nature remains hidden.
To bring these mysteries closer to the public, Tartu Observatory
(University of Tartu, Estonia) dedicated during a Dark Matter Month 2025 a series of events combining science
and art (link)
Dark Matter Day, 31 October:
at the Starry Night event in Tartu Observatory, Prof. Elmo Tempel gave a public lecture
“Dark matter and dark energy – myths and reality”,
dispelling misconceptions and presenting the current scientific view
(link).
The evening also featured an art and photo exhibition guided by Maret Einasto,
inspired by the strange and elusive presence of dark matter and dark energy
(link).
This lecture was accompanied by a series of public lectures at Tartu Old Observatory:
At 21. October Maret Einasto in her talk
“How do galaxy superclusters get their names” introduced
the largest structures in the cosmic web, immense reservoirs of dark matter,
and explained the principles behind their naming
(link).
At 4. November Teet Kuutma has a talk
His lecture “Similarities and differences between the Milky Way and other galaxies”
highlighted how the Sun’s position within the Milky Way both helps and limits our
perspective, and how comparisons with other galaxies allow scientists to reconstruct our galaxy’s structure and evolution (link).
At 18. November Manuel Hohmann gave a talk
“Traces in the Sky: In Search of Quantum Gravity in Space”*,
in which he examined the challenge of unifying quantum mechanics with general relativity,
showing how extreme cosmic phenomena may reveal subtle signs of quantum gravity (link).