Royal couple visits ASTRON

© Provincie Drenthe

On 18 September 2019 the Royal couple visited ASTRON and the Dwingeloo Telescope as part of their 'Streekbezoek' to the province of Drenthe. The Royal Couple was welcomed at the Dwingeloo Telescope by ASTRON director Carole Jackson.

Tammo Jan Dijkema then explained about the history and current use of the Dwingeloo Telescope. After this they continued their visit to ASTRON where ASTRON Deputy Director Marco de Vos was waiting to receive them. Astronomer Joeri van Leeuwen then explained about CORTEX, an international collaboration which researches the explosive universe through artificial intelligence.

As part of attracting new talent, the Royal Couple then spoke with Daniëla Mikkers, project leader of the Open Science Hub Dwingeloo. She spoke of how children come into contact at a young age with the science and technology involved in building and using a radio telescope. The Royal Couple also got to know the builders of the scale model of the Dwingeloo Telescope, which is in the Open Science Hub, Jorrit Siebenga and Sjouke Kuindersma.

At the farewell, director Carole Jackson offered a special gift to commemorate the visit. ASTRON can look back on a special and very successful day.