“We only have space body models in Brno in the quality and design that the observatory and the Visualove group came up with in 2019. The unique visual experience thus attracts more and more people to Kraví hora every year, last year 70,000 of them arrived at the Festival of the Planets. The event financially supported by the city is rightfully one of the highlights of the Brno summer season,” says Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková.
At first glance, it’s not complicated at all. Printed fabric and plenty of plain, fan-driven air. You really don’t need anything more to create an attraction that can attract thousands of people in one moment, so that ten times more people will be interested in it.
“Of course, it’s not that simple,” Jiří Dušek, director of the Brno Observatory and Planetarium and commander of the miracle machine, comments on Festival of Planets for EuroZprávy.cz. “At any one time, approximately two dozen workers, assisted by many others, ensure the smooth running of the festival. From the cleaners, through the orderly service to the drivers of the transport company or members of the city police. For the Brno Observatory and Planetarium, this is the most prestigious, most visited and most organizationally complex event of the year. But we don’t want a soulless attraction that will result in countless selfies. Our goal is for the residents of our city to live astronomy quite naturally, and for them to take it for granted that they can go into space from Cow Mountain at any time.”
This fascinating structure was traditionally born in Brno. The creators of its graphic design, light architects Jan Machát and Michal Okleštěk from the Visualove group created the visual form, while the actual printing and assembly was entrusted to the skilled workers of the Kubíček Factory.
The first official installation of Temnalón in a public space took place in the early hours of June 20, 2023, on the bastion of Špilberk Castle, from where this astronomical symbol watched over its hometown for several hours. It was here that the pictures documenting this unique event were also taken.
Temnalón in Brno
Photo: Brno Observatory and Planetarium
However, from Monday July 10th to Sunday July 16th and again from Tuesday August 1st to Tuesday August 8th 2023, you can meet Temnalona every afternoon and evening on Cow Mountain. For all essential information regarding your visit, we recommend visiting the websites www.festivalplanet.cz or www.hvezdarna.cz. Here you will find all the necessary information to fully enjoy this event.
What is Temnalona and what does it show?
The night side of the Earth is not black, featureless or static. Volcanic eruptions, auroras, lightning, or meteors create light that is visible from a few milliseconds to days and weeks, even months. But the most obvious is the light that man creates and that serves to ward off darkness. This is, for example, public lighting, the consequences of industrial or commercial activities or transport. It can also be a trace of other human activities – for example, burning gas is the result of fossil fuel extraction, lonely lights in the seas and oceans are in turn associated with commercial fishing. Moreover, these human sources of night light change – in space and time. As humanity grows, it becomes richer and has higher demands on the form of everyday life.
It is difficult to quantify, but it is estimated that there are at least 325 million street lamps on our planet. However, the brightest areas of our planet are not necessarily the most populated, but the most urbanized. Just compare Western Europe with China and India. An example of a divided world is the illuminated border between India and Pakistan, as well as the contrast in the darkness of North Korea immersed in darkness and the prey of the glowing southern neighbor, including the illuminated demarcation line. Rich Singapore, Qatar and Kuwait also drowned in the light.
Temnalón in Brno
Photo: Brno Observatory and Planetarium
Human cities usually expand along coastlines and transport networks, so the outlines of many continents are visible. The interstate highway system of the United States of America appears as a grid connecting the brighter points of urban centers, in Russia the Trans-Siberian Highway is a coronary artery stretching from Moscow through the center of Asia to Vladivostok. The Nile River, from the Aswan Dam to the Mediterranean Sea, is another bright trail cutting through the otherwise dark region of North Africa.
Even more than 100 years after the invention of electric light, some regions remain sparsely populated and unlit. Antarctica is completely dark, similar to the inland jungles of Africa and South America. The deserts in Africa, Arabia, Australia, Mongolia and the United States, as well as the Nordic forests in Canada and Russia or the Himalayas, are also poorly lit.
How to enjoy the Festival of the Planets?
From July 10 to 16, Temnalón with Terralóna (the night and day appearance of the planet Earth) will be exhibited, from August 1 to 8 they will be joined by Lunalón (i.e. the Moon), Marsmeloun (Mars) and Heliosphere (the Sun). Every day from 2:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Use only public transport to get to Kraví hora. It is not possible to park in the vicinity of the park! It is easiest to use “four”. Bus number 4 goes to us from the railway station, Svoboda Square, Česká Street or from the Red Church every ten minutes. You get off at the final stop: Náměstí Míru/Masarykova čtvrť.
Trams, illustration photo
Photo: Michael Zelinka / INCORP images
Another option for getting to the festival is bus number 68, which goes from Šumavská, past Šelepka, Tábor and along Mučednická to Náměstí Míru. Night bus line N89 also stops at Náměstí Míru after 11 p.m.
During the busiest hours of the Festival of the Planets, the transport company of the city of Brno deploys cars with a larger capacity, which run more often than indicated in the timetable. Even so, we ask for your patience.
If you still use a car, please respect parking zones and parking restrictions. Brno Municipal Police patrols supervise order.
Every evening at 20:00 there is a short talk with the models in the park.
Every evening from 9:30 p.m. (in July), or from 21.00 (in August) it shows summer cinema with a cosmic soul.
Source: eurozpravy.cz
