Solarigraphy Meeting 2025: Between Science, Art, and Education

19th - 22nd June 2025, Prague

Registration is now open via the form available here

Solarigraphy combines art, photography and science to produce unique images of the sky. To explore this unusal method of astrophotography, we invite scientists, photographers, artists and teachers to discuss all aspects of the process in June 2025 at Planetarium Prague . Anyone is welcome no matter their level of experience.

The aim of the meeting is to discuss all aspects of solarigraphy: from its roots in conceptual art and astronomy, through photographic chemical processes, different techniques and camera types, to legal aspects and the use of the solarigraphy in education and public outreach. We will also discuss more general aspects of the overlap between science and art, and an educational session will provide the opportunity for teachers to meet with professional scientists and artists.

This year's meeting takes place in cooperation with Planetarium Prague. It will be similar to those we organised in 2021 and 2023. 

Important dates 

The registration deadline has been extended ! Submissions are now open until 9th April.

19th January 2025 : Registration opens
19th March 2025 9th April 2025 : Abstract submission deadline
19th May 2025 : Registration deadline and program announced
19th – 22nd June 2025 : The meeting

Conference Poster

Abstract and registration information

There is no registration fee. Coffee breaks will be provided, but participants are asked to cover their own expenses for travel, accomodation, and meals. Abstract and registration submission is now open. If you're planning to attend, please fill in the the registration form available here. If you have results you want to show at the meeting, please describe them in the "presentation title / abstract" fields. We can show your presentation and/or images on a standard data projector. There is no need to send us anything in advance, just bring your presentation on a laptop or standard USB drive. For any inquiries, see the "contact details" section below.

Venue and Logistics

The meeting will be held in Planetarium Prague . Contact details for the Planetarium are :

Prague Planetarium
Královská obora 233
Prague 7, 170 00

More contact details and directions can be found on the Planetarium's website. The easiest route to the Planetarium from within Prague is to take the metro line C (red) to the Nádraží Holešovice station, and then walk 15 minutes (unfortunately trams will be unavailble during the meeting due to reconstruction) The meeting will be in a seminar room within the Planetarium building. See also the Prague public transport website for directions to the Planetarium and to other locations within the city.

Accomodation : Some recommended hotels are listed below, but we encourage participants to arrange their own accomodation. We have a very limited number of rooms available for participants at the Astronomical Institute's Prague and Ondřejov campuses, for which priority will be given to invited speakers.

Recommended hotels (prices for 19th-22nd June 2025, please note these are only approximate) :
1) Villa Lana. Price: 5400 CZK (with breakfast)
2) B&B HOTEL Prague-City. Price: 5600 CZK (with breakfast)
3) Botel Marina. Price: 5500 CZK

Meals : Coffee and tea breaks are provided by the Planetarium. For meals participants should make their own arrangements.

Recommended restaurants, approximate distance from the venue :
1) Restaurant "Vystavka" (400m)
2) Restaurant "Klub AVU" (550m)
3) Artycok Bistro (230m)
4) Restaurant Pivovar Kolkovna (brewery with restaurant, 200m)
5) Restaurant "Holesovicka Sedma" (750m)

More options of restaurants/cafes in shopping mall "Stromovka", about 750m from the venue.

Remote participation : One afternoon session will be in hybrid format with speakers attending online. The rest of the conference is intended to be an in-person event.

Program

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM

THURSDAY 19 JUNE
09:00-09:30 Registration
09:30-12:30 Morning session
09:30-09:45 Maciej Zapiór Welcome: Why are we here?
09:45-10:30 Paweł Kula Solarigraphy - a neverending story (invited)
10:30-10:45 Slawomir Nalepka I'll take you to my places in Northern Ireland
10:45-11:00 Cezary Bartczak Different ways of creating solarigraphy image
11:00-11:30 Coffee break
11:30-11:45 Grzegorz Hussak Solarigraphy on glass and paper negatives via medium and large format cameras
11:45-12:00 Matěj Hrubeš Landscapes of the Sun
12:00-12:30 Maciej Zapiór 25 years of solarigraphy, 20 years with solarigraphy

12:30-14:00 Lunch break

14:00-17:15 Afternoon session
14:00-14:30 Marek Poźniak Time to say wow solarigraphy in practice (invited)
14:30-15:15 Screening: Inner Telescope, a Space Artwork by Eduardo Kac, a film by Virgile Novarina produced by the Observatoire de l'Espace du CNES
15:15-15:30 Virgile Novarina Q&A about the movie (online)
15:30-16:00 Coffee break
16:00-16:30 Judith Santos-Torres From Passion to Profession: My Journey in Astronomy (online)
16:30-17:00 Piotr Cieślak Patience - evolution of long exposure photography (online)
17:00-17:15 Nick Dvoracek Stereo solargraphic project (online)

FRIDAY 20 JUNE
09:00-12:30 Morning session
09:00-09:45 Łukasz Huculak Kissing the Sun. The sun as an art medium (invited)
09:45-10:15 Jan Valenta The journey from making big bubbles to nanart - Using interference macrophotography for art
10:15-10:45 Coffee break
10:45-11:15 Svatopluk Civiš Chemical abiogenesis: Scientific observations turned into an artistic concept (invited)
11:15-12:00 Aneta Zeleznikova Art and Space (invited)
12:00-12:30 exhibition opening

12:30-14:00 Lunch break

14:00-17:30 Afternoon session
14:00-14:15 Grzegorz Sęk Solarigraphy with pupils and students
14:15-14:30 Jan Vesely Powerstation Solarigraphy
14:30-14:50 Martina Pavelková Využití solarografie ve výuce (in Czech)
14:50-15:10 Rudolf Mentzl Slunce nejen v plechovce (in Czech)
15:10-17:30 Horizontal solarigraphy workshop for teachers, beginners and advanced (Czech and English)

18:00-19:00 Show in Planetarium

SATURDAY 21 JUNE
09:00-12:30 Morning session
09:00-09:30 Paweł Kula Solarigraphy - light, time and material (invited)
09:30-09:50 Alexandre Sampaio Solarigraphy and storytelling
09:50-10:10 Costantino Sigismondi Sunspots, faculae and flares in Camera Obscura
10:10-10:30 Arkadiusz Hess Rhythms of Earth’s Orbit – The Astronomical Mechanics Behind Milankovitch Cycles
10:30-11:00 Coffee break
11:00-11:30 Heike Baranowsky Screening: Soliloquio
11:30-12:00 Artem Koval and Maciej Zapiór Global Solarigraphy Project: Circumnavigation in Time
12:00-12:30 Concluding discussion: What's next?

12:30-14:00 lunch

14:00-16:00 Praha Astronomicka City Tour

18:00-22:00 conference dinner

About the Organisers 

This meeting is organised by the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, in cooperation with the Prague Planetarium, the Czech Astronomical Society, and Astropis. You can find details of the organisers on their webpages here :
Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Czech Astronomical Society
Planetarium Prague
Astropis

Contact Details

If you have any questions about the meeting, please contact any of the Local Organising Committe members :

Maciej Zapiór (Polish, English) : zapior.maciek <at> gmail.com
Artem Koval (Ukrainian) : artem.koval <at> asu.cas.cz
Martina Pavelkova (Czech) : martina.pavelkova <at> asu.cas.cz
Rhys Taylor (English) : rhys.taylor <at> asu.cas.cz
Jan Veselý (Czech, English) : vesely <at> planetum.cz
David Ondřich (Czech, English, German): dond <at> astropis.cz