The World Heritage Centre is at the forefront of the international community’s efforts to protect and preserve World Heritage partnerships for conservation Ensuring that World Heritage sites sustain their outstanding universal value is an increasingly challenging mission in today’s complex world where sites are vulnerable to the effects of uncontrolled urban development Our Partners Donate Take advantage of the search to browse through the World Heritage Centre information Located in a modest house within the historic centre of Franeker the Koninklijk Eise Eisinga Planetarium (Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium) is the oldest continuously operating planetarium (i.e this accurately working model of our solar system provides an up-to-date and realistic image of the positions of the Sun the Earth and the five other planets that were known at the time (Mercury Conceived and largely built by an ordinary citizen – the wool manufacturer Eise Eisinga – the planetarium mechanism is ingeniously built into the ceiling and the closet-bed wall of the living room Doing this made it possible to build a large orrery and to use the room beneath it as a reception and presentation area – just as in modern planetariums it is open to the public and used as an educational centre dedicated to astronomy The fact that the mechanism is still in working order is evidence of the ingenuity and foresight of its maker who left detailed instructions for its maintenance Criterion (iv): The Koninklijk Eise Eisinga Planetarium (Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium) is an outstanding example of an 18th-century orrery representing exceptional creativity in its technical design and execution The orrery provides an up-to-date and realistic image of the positions of the Sun the Earth and the five other planets that were known at the time The planetarium mechanism is ingeniously attached to the original beam construction of the house which was specially adapted for this purpose In operation almost continuously since 1781 it consists of simple but robust components it continues to contribute to the dissemination of astronomical knowledge and in particular to the understanding of the heliocentric model of the Universe The property is also associated with the transfer of scientific knowledge to a wider audience in 18th-century society The property includes all constituent elements of the mechanical planetarium including those that allow its functioning as well those associated with its presentation and the building in which it is located and to which the planetarium mechanism is inextricably linked This 18th-century depiction of the solar system fills the entire ceiling of the former living room/bedroom of Eise Eisinga The planets hang like wooden balls from metal rods that protrude through the slots in the ceiling The mezzanine space above the ceiling houses the pendulum clock and the cogwheels the mechanism is still in full use and continues to work according to its original design Thanks to a very strict maintenance regime almost all the original parts have been preserved the planetarium instrument has retained a high level of authenticity the various components of the instrument have remained unchanged since its completion Two important sources of information help confirm the authenticity of the property: the first complete description of it published in 1780 by Franeker University professor Jean Henri van Swinden; and the description and maintenance instructions left by Eise Eisinga in 1784 The almost complete series of guest books that have been kept from the very beginning also attest to its educational significance The planetarium building has been designated as a national monument since 1967 the property bears the blue and white shield the international distinguishing mark to identify cultural heritage properties protected by the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict The property and its buffer zone are part of the larger protected cityscape of the inner city of Franeker The protection of this area falls under the Environment and Planning Act World Heritage occupies a special state-controlled position under this Act The State provides mandatory instruction rules for provinces and municipalities in order to regulate matters in their environmental ordinances or environmental plans All the rules relating to the living environment are included in the environmental plan This concerns a balanced allocation of functions to locations (comparable to the current designations) as well as rules in respect of activities with consequences for the living environment the management of the planetarium has been in the hands of the Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium Foundation The board of the foundation consists of five members from scientific fields (University of Groningen and scientific journalism) the financial sector (accountancy) and local representatives The day-to-day business is carried out by a managing director and nine employees The municipality of Waadhoeke has a structural subsidy relationship with the planetarium maintenance of the planetarium instrument has taken place on the basis of the instructions of its maker Approximately every twelve to fifteen years the planetarium mechanism undergoes major maintenance All this work is carried out by regional professionals Because the property consists mainly of wooden parts these are checked every two years for the presence of woodworm and longhorn beetle The dates displayed for an article provide information on when various publication milestones were reached at the journal that has published the article activities on preceding journals at which the article was previously under consideration are not shown (for instance submission All content on this site: Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. Metrics details The photoactive layer of organic solar cells consists of a nanoscale blend of electron-donating and electron-accepting organic semiconductors Controlling the degree of phase separation between these components is crucial to reach efficient solar cells In solution-processed polymer–fullerene solar cells small amounts of co-solvents are commonly used to avoid the formation of undesired large fullerene domains that reduce performance There is an ongoing discussion about the origin of this effect we combine three optical measurements to investigate layer thickness phase separation and polymer aggregation in real time during solvent evaporation under realistic processing conditions large fullerene-rich domains form via liquid–liquid phase separation at ~20 vol% solid content co-solvents induce polymer aggregation below 20 vol% solids and prevent the formation of large domains This rationalizes the formation of intimately mixed films that give high-efficient solar cells for the materials studied the use of co-solvents has become ubiquitous but it remains a skill rather than being based on a deep understanding of the dynamical processes that occur during solution processing of the organic layer This work aims to investigate the formation of the photoactive layer in real time during spin coating and elucidate the role of co-solvents we show the structures of these polymers to show their widely different chemical composition in none of these systems co-solvents are necessary to decrease domain sizes polymer aggregation and large-scale phase separation during spin coating We show for the first time that without the co-solvent polymer aggregation occurs after large-scale liquid–liquid phase separation the aggregation of the polymer occurs at higher solvent content Enough co-solvent has to be added to ensure that the onset of polymer aggregation occurs before large-scale phase separation can occur (a) Chemical structure of PDPP5T and [70]PCBM (b) J–V curves under simulated solar illumination of PDPP5T:[70]PCBM (1:2 w/w) solar cells processed from chloroform without and with 3 vol% oDCB (c) The effect of the concentration of co-solvent on the PCE for oDCB and DIO (d) Bright-field TEM images of PDPP5T:[70]PCBM (1:2 w/w) films spin coated from chloroform with the indicated amount of oDCB as co-solvent only 2 vol% of DIO is enough to decrease the domain size to an optimum (a) The interference of incident laser light is monitored to measure the solvent layer thickness during drying as function of time (b) Scattered laser light monitors the onset of liquid–liquid phase separation (c) A change in the diffuse reflection of white light detected the change in the absorption spectrum that accompanies aggregation of polymer chains in solution normalized interference and light scattering of PDPP5T:[70]PCBM in solvent mixtures is monitored during spin coating at 2,000 r.p.m The solvent is chloroform (blue squares) and chloroform with 5 vol% oDCB (red circles) Green arrows schematically indicate the thickness reconstruction from the measured interference signal The dashed lines indicate the onset of scattering Using 5 vol% oDCB in chloroform, the drying time increases from 0.8 to 6 s (note the axis break in Fig. 3) there is a stage where mainly chloroform evaporates until ~0.7 s This implies that during these last 5 s the oDCB concentration is much larger than 5 vol% this explains why such a seemingly low amount of co-solvent can have such a dramatic effect but there is a small step indicated by the dark red dashed line this is probably due to small inhomogeneities caused by polymer aggregation An interference effect can also be seen in the light scattering signal This is explained by the fact that interference effects cause light intensity fluctuations in the wet layer Using DIO as a co-solvent, a somewhat different interference pattern is found. When measurements are done for a characteristic spin-coating time (~60 s), only a chloroform-drying regime is observed. A 7,000-s spin-coating experiment reveals that DIO evaporates on much longer timescales (see Supplementary Fig. 3) drying continues for 56 min while spinning continuously at 2,000 r.p.m Such long spin coating is not commonly used and hence DIO-processed layers typically remain wet until a high-vacuum step is employed it is likely that the solids:DIO ratio in the chloroform-dried film is the same as their initial ratio (a) Evolution of the absorption spectrum during spin coating of a PDPP5T:[70]PCBM film from chloroform with 3 vol% oDCB (b) Laser interference (thin lines) and transmission of 780–820 nm light (thick semi-transparent lines) of PDPP5T:[70]PCBM films during spin coating from chloroform with different concentrations oDCB (a) Total solvent content (concentration in vol%) at the onset of scattering (pink stars) and at the change in transmission (blue circles at 50% change) versus concentration of oDCB in the initial chloroform solution (error bars for scattering arise from the time-uncertainty in the scattering onset; thickness uncertainty from back-calculating the interference signals is not included The transmission error bars indicate 20–80% transmission change) (c) Schematic phase diagram revealing the role of co-solvent in inducing polymer aggregation at higher solvent contents which prevents large-scale liquid–liquid phase separation during drying and results in optimized morphologies Liquid–liquid demixing precedes polymer aggregation in films that are processed from solutions of PDPPTPT-HD or PDPPTPT-DT with [70]PCBM in pure chloroform the onset of polymer aggregation occurs before liquid–liquid phase separation can occur These results are fully consistent with those obtained for PDPP5T and [70]PCBM Our interpretation of this data is clarified in Fig. 5c The orange arrow indicates the order of events when no co-solvent is used: (1) when spin coating is started the chloroform concentration decreases due to evaporation; (2) at ~80 vol% total solvent content liquid–liquid phase separation occurs; (3) at ~50 vol% total solvent content the polymer aggregates The domain size is determined in step (2) by the fullerene droplets which are formed by liquid–liquid phase separation the purple arrow indicates the order of events: (1) the total solvent content decreases mainly due to chloroform evaporation thus the solvent quality for the polymer decreases; (2) at ~80–95 vol% total solvent content the polymer starts aggregating; (3) the polymer has aggregated before liquid–liquid phase separation has occurred large-scale phase separation does not occur if the onset of polymer aggregation occurs simultaneously with or before the unstable spinodal regime in the phase diagram is entered polymer aggregation occurs when the fullerene is still dissolved propose that the formation of polymer networks prevents large-scale domain formation (a) AFM height image of the photoactive layer of a solar cell made from a PDPP5T:[70]PCBM solution in pure chloroform which had been left to preaggregate for 6 days (b) AFM height image of a the photoactive layer of solar cell made from the same solution as in a that had been restirred at 90 °C for 20 min and left to cool down for 10 min to room temperature before spin coating (c) EQE measurements of the solar cells in a and b reveal that the solar cell from the preaggregated solution has a more pronounced red-shifted response and a slightly lower photocurrent compared to the solar cell from the reheated solution (d) In situ absorption spectra showing wet and dry film absorption spectra for both solar cells in a (preaggregated) and b (reheated) The measurements were vertically shifted such that the absorbance at 925 nm is set to zero The thickness of the active layers of both solar cells was 100 nm To prevent the liquid–liquid phase separation the co-solvent induced aggregation must occur under supersaturated conditions at 5 to 20 vol% solid content in a mixture that is enriched in the co-solvent We hypothesize that under these supersaturated conditions the polymer gelates by forming a fibrillar network which rapidly increases the viscosity and thus prevents large-scale morphology development or that the polymer precipitates which prevents liquid–liquid phase separation by altered interactions between the components as a consequence of the enrichment of the solution with co-solvent and reduced concentration of dissolved polymer it is of interest to study if the proposed mechanism has wider applicability and to what extend other effects contribute The in situ methods outlined in our study can be used for this purpose and can likely be transferred to the in-line monitoring of drying processes in roll-to-roll deposition Understanding the mechanisms underlying the morphology formation will provide a more straightforward optimization of solar cell processing conditions This is a necessary development considering the challenges that remain for organic solar cells to become a viable technology Three different substrates were used: (1) Solar cells are made on prepatterned indium-tin-oxide substrates (Naranjo Substrates); (2) combined interference and scattering was performed on silicon substrates (Si-Mat 525 μm thickness with 200 nm SiO2 layer); (3) interference and absorption and transmission measurements were done on glass slides All substrates were thoroughly cleaned by sonication in acetone scrubbing and sonication in a sodium dodecyl sulfate solution (99% rinsing with deionized water and finally sonication in 2-propanol a titanium oxide layer was prepared using a sol-gel method Acros) and titanium(IV) isopropoxide (145 μl Aldrich) were added to 2-proponol (1.0 ml) a latex-based white paint was spin coated on the backside of the slide at 800 r.p.m Before application of the photoactive layer all substrates were treated with ultraviolet-ozone and covered with a 40-nm thick poly(ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS a back electrode was evaporated consisting of LiF (1 nm) and Al (100 nm) Current density–voltage (J–V) characteristics were measured by sweeping the voltage from −2 to +2 V using a Keithley 2400 sourcemeter A tungsten halogen lamp was used in conjunction with a Hoya LB120 daylight filter to simulate the solar spectrum The total light intensity was checked with a calibrated Si photodiode to be ~100 mW cm−2 EQE was measured with a chopper-modulated 50 W Philips focusline tungsten halogen lamp in combination with an Oriel Cornerstone 130 monochromator The modulated signal was amplified by a current preamplifier (Stanford Research System Model SR570) and measured by a lock-in amplifier (Stanford research Systems SR830) The measurements were converted to EQE by using a calibrated silicon reference cell For interference and scattering experiments The laser beam was spread to a spot of ~3 mm radius using a biconvex lens which removes disturbances caused by the rotating sample by averaging over a larger area A diffuser was used to collect all specular reflected light and to filter out a slight wobble in the spinning disk An Si photodiode (Thor Labs SM1PD1A) collected the light behind the diffuser A current preamplifier (Stanford Research System Model SR570) operating in high-bandwidth mode amplified the short-circuit current of the photodiode A photodiode (Hamamatsu S2281) collected off-specular scattered light under a ~45° angle which was amplified by a second current preamplifier A Keithley 2636 A sourcemeter simultaneously measured both amplified signals as a voltage Wolfram Mathematica 9.0 was used to automatically select peaks and valleys in the interference signals Using the final dry layer thickness (measured with a Veeco Dektak 150 profilometer) the thickness was backwards reconstructed from the interference signal by repetitive addition of λ/(4n cos θ) (amounting to ~100 nm per peak-valley distance) Here θ is the angle of incidence of the laser on the substrate and λ is the wavelength of the laser The approximate volume fractions of all components were used to estimate the refractive index n For absorption and transmission experiments a light from halogen lamp was focussed on approximately the same area as the laser light A fibre optic cable collected the light that was transmitted through the layer stack scattered by the white paint and again transmitted through the whole stack A spectrometer (Avantes Avaspec-2048 × 14) was used in store-to-RAM mode Raw counts are transformed to an absorption spectrum using where Im indicates the wavelength-dependent amount of counts The subscript dark is a dark reference and blank is a reference measurement on the substrate before spin coating the active layer For photodiode-based transmission measurements FWHM 40 nm) was used in front of a Si photodiode (Thor Labs SM1PD1A) This signal was measured in the same way as the scattering signal PDPP5T:[70]PCBM films were floated from the PEDOT-covered indium-tin-oxide substrates on 200 square mesh copper grids TEM was performed with a Tecnai G2 Sphera (FEI) operating at 200 kV Tapping-mode AFM was performed using a Veeco MultiMode AFM with Nanosensor PPP-NCHR-50 tips A real-time study of the benefits of co-solvents in polymer solar cell processing Aggregation and morphology control enables multiple cases of high-efficiency polymer solar cells Degradation mechanisms in organic photovoltaic devices An inter-laboratory stability study of roll-to-roll coated flexible polymer solar modules All solution roll-to-roll processed polymer solar cells free from indium-tin-oxide and vacuum coating steps ITO-free flexible organic solar cells with printed current collecting grids Non-halogenated solvents for environmentally friendly processing of high-performance bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cells Molecular design and morphology control towards efficient polymer solar cells processed using non-aromatic and non-chlorinated solvents Additives for morphology control in high-efficiency organic solar cells On the morphology of polymer-based photovoltaics Processing Additives for improved efficiency from bulk heterojunction solar cells Efficiency enhancement in low-bandgap polymer solar cells by processing with alkane dithiols Multi-length-scale morphologies in PCPDTBT/PCBM bulk-heterojunction solar cells Transition from solution to the solid state in polymer solar cells cast from mixed solvents Morphology and phase segregation of spin-casted films of polyfluorene/PCBM blends Predicting morphologies of solution processed polymer:fullerene blends Enhanced power-conversion efficiency in polymer solar cells using an inverted device structure Absolute measurement of domain composition and nanoscale size distribution explains performance in PTB7:PC71BM solar cells Understanding the morphology of PTB7:PCBM blends in organic photovoltaics Determining the optimum morphology in high-performance polymer-fullerene organic photovoltaic cells Effect of the fibrillar microstructure on the efficiency of high molecular weight diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer solar cells Efficient solar cells based on an easily accessible diketopyrrolopyrrole polymer Dithienogermole as a fused electron donor in bulk heterojunction solar cells High-efficiency inverted dithienogermole–thienopyrrolodione-based polymer solar cells Effect of processing additive on morphology and charge extraction in bulk-heterojunction solar cells Controlling solution-phase polymer aggregation with molecular weight and solvent additives to optimize polymer-fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells An isoindigo and dithieno[3,2-b:20,30-d]silole copolymer for polymer solar cells A mechanistic understanding of processing additive-induced efficiency enhancement in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells Elucidating double aggregation mechanisms in the morphology optimization of diketopyrrolopyrrole-based narrow bandgap polymer solar cells Efficient polymer solar cells based on a low bandgap semi-crystalline DPP polymer-PCBM blends Effects of additives on the morphology of solution phase aggregates formed by active layer components of high-efficiency organic solar cells Spin-cast bulk heterojunction solar cells: A dynamical investigation Effect of processing additives on the solidification of blade-coated polymer/fullerene blend films via in-situ structure measurements Moving through the phase diagram: Morphology formation in solution cast polymer-fullerene blend films for organic solar cells Morphology development in amorphous polymer:fullerene photovoltaic blend films during solution casting High-molecular-weight regular alternating diketopyrrolopyrrole-based terpolymers for efficient organic solar cells Solution processed polymer tandem solar cell using efficient small and wide band gap polymer:fullerene blends Morphological device model for organic bulk heterojunction solar cells An interfacial instability in a transient wetting layer leads to lateral phase separation in thin spin-cast polymer-blend films Narrow-bandgap diketo-pyrrolo-pyrrole polymer solar cells: the effect of processing on the performance A thienylenevinylene-phthalimide copolymer based polymer solar cell with high open circuit voltage: effect of additive concentration on the open circuit voltage Molecular solubility and Hansen solubility parameters for the analysis of phase separation in bulk heterojunctions Download references We thank Charley Schaefer (Eindhoven University of Technology) and Dr Jasper Michels (Holst Centre) for discussions Fruitful discussions with Dr Sjoerd Veestra (ECN Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands) lead to the painted substrates for in situ absorption measurements We appreciate the contribution of Geert Adriaans regarding the experiments on PDPPTPT and of Dr Xianwen Lou for SEC measurements The research forms part of the research programme of the Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI) and has received funding from the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme in the LargeCells project (Grant Agreement No 261936) and from the Dutch Ministry of Education Culture and Science (Gravity programme 024.001.035) Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences the analysis of the results and writing was done by J.J.v.F. The authors declare no competing financial interests Supplementary Figures 1-8 and Supplementary References Time resolved absorption spectra during film formation The movie shows the optical absorption of PDPP5T:[70]PCBM films spin coated from chloroform with 3 vol.-% oDCB as co-solvent The top panel shows the transmission at 633 nm that serves to identify flow phase (up to 680 ms) and the subsequent evaporation phases during film drying The bottom panel shows the absorption spectra Polymer aggregation sets in at about 960-1060 ms before the film has dried at about 3000 ms Download citation Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily. Photo: Erik Zachte via Wikimedia CommonsA 250-year-old planetarium built into the roof of a private house in Friesland has become the latest Dutch entry on Unesco’s world heritage list The Eise Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker is the oldest working planetarium in the world It was constructed by wool merchant Eise Eisinga as a moving model of the solar system between 1774 and 1781 in the ceiling of his own home Eisinga built the planetarium to disprove a theory that certain planets were on a collision course and that the end of the world was imminent and he hoped his model would demonstrate that the planets were actually in conjunction not a scientist in the formal sense but a ‘creative genius who built the planetarium entirely on his own initiative’ There are already 12 Dutch sites on the Unesco world heritage list following the addition of the Lower German Limes and the ‘Colonies of Benevolence’ in Groningen and Drenthe last year Dutch destinations: music and mummies in Frisian villages The Unesco committee which decided to include the site in the listing said it was an “iconic example of an 18th-century orrery [planetarium] representing exceptional creativity in both its extraordinary technical design and execution “largely due to the creative genius and foresight of its maker who left detailed instructions for the maintenance.” We could not provide the Dutch News service without the generous support of our readers Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days We could not provide this service without you Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey with every 1mm representing one million km (Credit: Mike Maceacheran)Dutch amateur astronomer Eise Eisinga might have left school at 12 years old but he built an inch-perfect model of the solar system in his living room There was a beat of silence as the room’s atmosphere shifted from inward reflection to jittery disbelief “How is that even possible?” said one visitor waving a pointed finger at the living-room ceiling “Why have I never heard of this before?” came the outburst from her companion On the timber roof above our heads was a scale model of the universe painted in sparkling gold and shimmering royal blue hung from a series of elliptical curves sawn into the ceiling All were gilded on one side to represent the sun’s illumination • The cliff that revealed Earth’s history • The clock that changed the meaning of time • The island that forever changed science The medieval science behind the Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium is staggering Tucked away in a gabled canal-side house in the tiny town of Franeker in the Netherlands’ north-west Friesland province it is the world’s oldest working planetarium The origins of Western astronomy date back to ancient Mesopotamia along the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers But it took a Frisian amateur – Eise Eisinga – to trap the universe in his living room And the science behind it is still precise today sun and moon moves exactly as they do in reality albeit reduced in scale by a factor of one trillion meaning 1mm on the ceiling represents one million km because they hadn’t been discovered when Eisinga hammered in the final nail in 1781 it is astonishing: a Baroque theatre for stargazers crowning the living room of a modest wool comber who lived shortly after the Dutch Golden Age an unfathomable undertaking considering Eisinga quit school aged 12 sun and moon moves exactly as they do in realityThe Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium today an astronomy museum and centre for space exploration has been drawing people from around the world ever since it opened in 1781 a national heritage site in the Netherlands layman astronomers and mission astronauts have visited who never fails to be astonished by its accuracy he can see the sunrise above IJsselmeer bay when he crosses the Afsluitdijk causeway on his way to work I can see the same time of the morning on the dial,” he said excitedly when I visited on a clear February afternoon yet even it was visible inside the planetarium While Eisinga’s story is well known within his home province of Friesland it’s a tale that would be lost to the rest of us without the planetarium – and the well-thumbed handbook he left behind it explains in minute detail how to maintain the orrery is made of a single type of metal so it’s influenced by temperature fluctuations Then there are the planet wheels themselves which create problems because of their size we have to adjust them every 10 to 12 years.” It was on 8 May 1774 that Eisinga first put his self-taught knowledge to good use Panic had erupted among the villagers of Franeker when a doomsday scenario was presented to them by Eelco Alta meant the Earth would burn to ashes in the sun It must have felt &ndash; if only just for a moment &ndash; that time had stoppedEisinga His aim was not to make a mockery of the church but to predict future planetary movements and show the townsfolk how wrong they were “Eisinga knew every planet had its own orbit around the sun,” tour guide Mascha Noordermeer told me as she traced complex circles across the ceiling as Eisinga once did “That [the project] would take seven years to complete Eisinga worked on the project in his spare time the planetarium slowly evolving above the box-sized kitchen and cupboard bed where he slept with his wife and son where he could touch the stars from his living room It must have felt – if only just for a moment – that time had stopped Here’s a tip should you decide to visit: don’t rush As well as displays of Georgian telescopes 18th-Century octants and a tellurium (an educational model of the Earth the latter represented by a flickering candle) the mathematical ingenuity required for the planetarium’s design takes time to process Hard-wired by a complex system of clockwork wooden hoops and disks tightly bound by cables bathed in dusty gloom Eisinga’s model of the solar system is held together by more than 10,000 homemade nails Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands when he climbed into this same pitched loft 200 years ago For the vast sum of 10,000 guilders – a fortune in the early 19th Century – Eisinga’s house became a royal planetarium for the State the only stipulation being that its inventor should live in it for free to provide explanation I emerged blinking back onto Franeker’s streets As ivy-draped houses caught the last of the day’s light Cyclists pedalled along cobbled canal ways and in front of the medieval Martinus Church a newly installed basin fountain sat in darkness Built in honour of another great Dutch astronomer whose assumption that the Milky Way moves around our solar system – and not the sun – was proved correct Only then did I realise that for such a small town Franeker has made the universe so much larger dedicated to this extraordinary wool comber looks enduringly to the skies in the shadow of the house in which he was born Join more than three million BBC Travel fans by liking us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter called "If You Only Read 6 Things This Week". 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Volume 8 - 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2020.00138 the transfer of plastic additives to stomach oil of northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) has been investigated Procellariiform seabirds retain oily components of their prey in theirs stomach as a means to store energy A marine litter-derived microplastic reference mixture and separately a marine litter-derived polystyrene sample were added to stomach oils in an experiment were identified in the original plastic mixtures and monitored in the leachates These substances include those known for endocrine disruptive and/or other negative effects on organisms Stomach oil was exposed to these plastic materials and was sampled during a long-term experiment (0 and 90 days’ exposure of plastic particles in stomach oil) and a subsequent short-term detailed study (8 h and 1 Five of the monitored substances were shown to strongly leach from the microplastic reference mixture into the stomach oil during the experiment Four substances were identified in a marine litter-derived polystyrene foam Leaching of harmful plastic additives to the stomach oil of fulmars may be of concern as fulmars regularly ingest plastics that are retained and gradually ground in the gizzard before passage to the intestines and excretion where the uptake of polybrominated flame retardants to stomach oil of Procellariiformes has been recorded Once plastic particles have been reduced to a size that they can be easily excreted it is likely that any further partitioning of additive chemicals is limited owing the short residence times of particles < 1 mm There has been limited focus in previous studies on the partitioning of additive chemicals The current study aims to document the potential uptake of harmful plastic additive chemicals into fulmar stomach oil using plastic debris sampled from the marine environment as test materials The mechanism of uptake of substances from plastic into seabirds is a crucial step to understand potential harm of plastic on seabirds both at the individual and population levels Plastic debris was collected and carefully characterized in terms of polymer type, shape, and size and milled into a microplastic mixture (Kühn et al., 2018) A comparable sample was prepared using beached polystyrene foam only Stomach oil collected from fulmars was exposed to these plastics under realistic gut conditions The additive chemical profiles were determined in the source materials and the stomach oil samples after exposure To determine the contribution of a different plastic type to the total process of additive leaching three pieces of weathered expanded polystyrene foam (PS) were collected at the same time from the same beach as the macroplastic litter items used in production of the PTX001 mixture The PS foam was cut manually to small particles of ∼0.5 mm in size because cryomilling of the foamed material proved unsuccessful Stomach oil was collected from northern fulmars on the Faroe Islands in the north Atlantic Ocean, where fulmar fledglings are harvested for human consumption (Jensen, 2012) Fledglings are caught from the sea surface with a long-handled net (“fleygg”) most of the young birds are too heavy to take off and are easily caught birds are immediately killed by breaking the neck The fledglings not only have large fat deposits but often also contain considerable quantities of stomach oil (some tens to well over 100 mL) hunters prevented the loss of the oil by tying a small rope around the neck and provided us with the undamaged stomachs The oil was drained directly from the stomach into glass bottles and frozen at −20°C The stomach oil used in the current study was a homogenate combined from more than 50 different chicks collected between 2014 and 2016 and as chicks already contain plastics transferred by their parents a basic load of chemicals in the stomach oil was already expected at the start of the experiments The filtered oil from each 5-mL sample was then divided between three glass vials of ~1 mL each and directly frozen at −20°C until further analysis This corresponds to 3 × 1-mL test vials being retrieved at each time point from each duplicate bottle resulting in a total of six subsamples per plastic type and time point All laboratory materials and Teflon-capped sample containers were carefully rinsed with hexane prior to use to reduce contamination (A) Marine derived plastic litter (PTX001) in stomach oil before filtration (B) PTX001 on a GFF filter (diameter 25 mm) after filtration three sets of chemical analyses were conducted: 1. The LTE: Oil samples collected and analyzed on day 0 (control only) and next after 14 and 90 days, with controls repeated at both dates. The sampling point of 90 days was chosen as the retention time of plastics in bird species has been reported to be between 2 months (Terepocki et al., 2017) and many months (Ryan and Jackson, 1987; Ryan, 2015) The short-term detailed experiment (STD): Replicated the LTE setup STD oil samples were taken on day 0 (control) and next after 8 h and 1 Controls were measured in the first three and last samples The long-term replicate (LTR): These analyses represented a check on the replicability of the initial (LTE) methods and control samples from the LTE were reanalyzed Samples of the plastic materials (∼500 mg PTX001 mixture ∼18–30 mg PS foam) were solvent extracted in triplicate with two different solvents; dichloromethane (DCM 4 mL of solvent and an internal standard mixture (0.2508 μg naphthalene-d8 0.0486 μg chrysene-d12) were added to each sample prior to bath sonication for 30 min (Bandelin Sonorex Super RK 510 H 35 kHz) at either room temperature (DCM) or 65°C (EtOAc) The solvent extract was then filtered through a pipette packed with Bilsom cotton to remove plastic particles and a small amount of anhydrous Na2SO4 to remove any moisture The extracts were then concentrated by solvent evaporation (40°C under a gentle flow of N2) to ~500 μL and a recovery internal standard (0.0984 μg fluorene-d10 and 0.1064 μg acenapthene-d10) was added prior to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis Prior to clean-up by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) samples extracted by DCM were readjusted to 1 mL volume with additional DCM Samples of fulmar oil (50 mg in the LTE and 100 mg in the LTR and STD) were transferred from the 1-mL vials to a glass tube and dissolved in 1 mL DCM:n-hexane (1:1) An internal standard mixture (0.2508 μg naphthalene-d8 The sample volume was then adjusted to 1 mL by solvent evaporation (40°C under a gentle flow of N2) Both fulmar oil extracts and DCM polymer extracts were subject to instrumental clean-up by GPC (Agilent) Samples (500 μL) were injected with DCM as the mobile phase (0.5 mL/min in the LTE and components separated using either an Agilent PLGel column (7.5 × 300 mm 5 μm; LTE) or a Waters Envirogel column (19 × 300 mm analyte fractions were collected from 16 to 35 min (LTE) or 10.5 to 15 min (STD) with preadded n-hexane in the collection vials as a keeper The sample volume was adjusted to 0.5 mL by solvent evaporation (40°C under a gentle flow of N2) and recovery internal standards (0.0984 μg fluorene-d10 and 0.1064 μg acenapthene-d10) were added prior to GC-MS analysis The GC-MS system comprised an Agilent 7890A GC equipped with an Agilent 5975C Mass Selective Detector The carrier gas was helium at a constant flow of 1.1 mL/min Samples of 1 μL were injected by pulsed splitless injection The GC column was an Agilent DB5-MS ultra-inert column (30 m The GC oven was held at 40°C (2 min) Mass spectra were recorded in full scan mode over the mass range 50 to 500 m/z chromatograms and mass spectra were recorded using Chemstation software investigated in Masshunter Qualitative Navigator B.08.00 further processed using Masshunter Unknowns Analysis (“Unknowns”) followed by export to csv format using Python and data processed in R peaks were deconvoluted using Unknowns algorithms and best hits from NIST 2017 library were extracted Compounds were filtered based on their observed presence in at least three of six replicates for each polymer and a > 90% match to NIST 2017 library mass spectra All compounds found in the control samples were also removed from the data set leaving only those that could be confidently attributed to coming from the PTX001 and PS materials For targeted analysis, the selected tentatively identified compounds were recorded by their retention time and major ions (Supplementary Table 1) in GC-MS SIM mode Masshunter Quantitative Analysis was further used to integrate peak areas of the selected compounds and the added internal standards The area of each tentatively identified compound was normalized by dividing by the area of one internal standard in each sample and the normalized relative intensities used to compare samples Given the exploratory and non-quantitative nature of the analysis there was a lack of reference standard chemicals for the identified additives it was not possible to establish individual calibration curves for each chemical Control-derived limits of detection (LOD) were established based on control measurements for each of the three treatments separately The LOD was calculated as the average of the controls of each treatment plus three standard deviations results showed that even the unexposed control stomach oil samples contained some level of additive chemicals already present when the oil was harvested Stomach oil extract samples from long-term exposures to PTX001 and PS (0 and 90 days) were analyzed twice (LTE and LTR) to evaluate analytical reproducibility because the LTE and STD results were generated using two different GC-MS analysis methods The results of the LTE and LTR analyses showed mostly consistent responses relative to the internal standard (phenanthrene-d10) and how it relates to the LOD The relative LOD was comparable for all substances during the LTE and the LTR For most samples, the two bottles representing identical treatments (bottles A and B; indicated in Supplementary Material graphs by two samples at the same time point) show similar averaged results, indicating the replicability of the chosen approach. The highest variation between A and B samples was observed for the compound TCPP (3:1) for PTX001 and PS (but not for the controls) during the LTE and the LTR experiments (Supplementary Material Chapter 3.7 the replicability was generally good (indicated in the graphs with error bars per sample) Different results between pairs of A and B sample bottles were mainly observed in the STD experiment a high deviation was observed in TCEP and bumetrizole a high deviation was observed in 7,9-di-tert-butyl-1-oxaspiro(4,5)deca-6,9-diene-2,8-dione and DBP the difference between the A and B samples was pronounced for only one compound Another indication of the reproducibility of the measurements is demonstrated by the control values, which remained relatively stable over time during all measurements with only a few exceptions. Variable control values over time were observed mainly during the first days of the STD experiment, with the strongest variation found in DEHP (Supplementary Material Chapter 3.13 page 19) all graphs include linear trendlines and standard deviation Summary of the leaching results for different substances detected in marine litter-derived microplastic reference mixture (PTX001) and marine litter-derived polystyrene foam (PS) to stomach oil of northern fulmars (0 = no Fast leaching of acetophenone (a precursor to resins and copolymers) from both PTX001 and PS foam to the stomach oil was evident during the first 2 weeks (Figure 2 and Supplementary Material Chapter 3.1 page 7) with PS foam especially exhibiting a high level of leaching STD results show that acetophenone started leaching from PS almost immediately followed by strong increase in relative concentration up to day 8 and reached the highest level by day 21 showing a high increase during the first 14 days followed by a stabilization until day 90 the acetophenone level increased above the level in the control samples after 14 days and subsequently decreased slightly at day 90 acetophenone showed gradual leaching from PTX001 until day 21 Strong leaching of acetophenone from PS and moderate leaching from PTX001 to stomach oil (A) long-term experiment (LTE) with connecting lines and (B) short-term detail experiment (STD) with linear trendlines and standard deviations Both lines are only used for visualization of data and do not imply that leaching patterns are linear Strong leaching of dibutylphenol, an antioxidant additive, was observed to occur from the PTX001 plastics (Figure 3). LTE and LTR results suggest gradual leaching for up to 3 months. Results from the STD experiment are rather variable but do support leaching also in the initial weeks. Some leaching of dibutylphenol may also occur from PS, but results are rather variable (Supplementary Material Chapter 3.3 Figure 3. Strong gradual leaching of dibutylphenol from PTX001 to stomach oil. Further caption details as in Figure 2 Phenyl benzoate, a preservative, showed an initial strong leaching from PS foam to the stomach oil in all three experiments (Figure 4). Results from the LTE and the LTR experiments indicated a decrease of phenyl benzoate leachate concentrations between 14 and 90 days, although the substance was still above the control levels at 90 days (Supplementary Material Chapter 3.5 Figure 4. Strong initial leaching of phenyl benzoate from PS to stomach oil with decrease in leachate concentrations between 14 and 90 days. Further caption details as in Figure 2 TCEP, a plasticizer, flame retardant, and viscosity regulator, showed an initial rapid leaching from PTX001 during the LTE and the LTR experiments, which decreased only slightly after 90 days (Figure 5 and Supplementary Material Chapter 3.6 high variation within both replicate samples (bottles A and B) was observed and although all data points are above the control level Figure 5. Strong initial leaching of TCEP from PTX001 to stomach oil. Left: long-term experiment. Further caption details as in Figure 2 DEHP, a plasticizer (Figure 6 and Supplementary Material Chapter 3.13 showed strong leaching from PTX001 during both the LTE and LTR experiments with concentrations continuing to increase strongly until day 90 These findings are not supported in the STD experiment where the control samples showed a highly varied pattern over the initial days and thus indicating lower reliability of the results Figure 6. Strong long-term leaching of DEHP from PTX001 to stomach oil. Further caption details as in Figure 2 Bumetrizole, a UV stabilizer also known as Tinuvin 326 (Figure 7 and Supplementary Material Chapter 3.14 rapidly leached from PTX001 to a great extent during the first days of exposure in the LTE and LTR experiments The levels appear to stabilize after 14 days of exposure demonstrated by results from all three experiments Data from the STD experiment indicate that leaching to the maximum observed concentration occurs almost instantly after the plastic is exposed to the stomach oil Figure 7. Strong initial leaching of bumetrizole from PTX001 to stomach oil. Further caption details as in Figure 2 Figure 8. No leaching of triphenylbenzene from PTX001 or PS to stomach oil. Further caption details as in Figure 2 increasing lipophilicity (log KOW) of organic hydrophobic contaminants would lead to increased lipid–polymer partition coefficients we observe no clear pattern between log KOW and which compounds leach to a greater extent The higher number of chemicals present in the PTX001 material reflects its composition of multiple plastic types each with its own additive chemical profiles Three of the chemicals were present in both materials suggesting these may derive from the PS component of PTX001 or that different polymer types sometimes contain the same additives Many studies looking at the leaching of additives from plastic have utilized chemical analyses to investigate the concentrations of specific target chemicals and chemical groups While this approach can provide useful information it risks filtering out other compounds that may be present and contributing to any observed leachate toxicity The current study used non-target screening as start point for identifying as many chemicals as possible in marine litter-derived microplastic test materials (PTX001 and PS foam) This enabled the development of analytical methods for quantifying these same chemicals in the corresponding leachates generated in a series of exposure studies (LTE and STD) conducted with northern fulmar stomach oil In the STD experiment, some of the substances showed high variation and unclear patterns of leaching during the first days (0–4 days) of exposure. For example, p-benzoquinone (Supplementary Material Chapter 3.2, page 8) and TCPP (3:1) (Supplementary Material Chapter 3.7 page 13) show varying concentration patterns for all measurements during 8 h and days 1 and 2 stomach oil leachate samples (high variation between bottles A and B and high variation within each bottle) This could be caused by compound instability in the sample matrix during processing minor differences in sampling time and sample treatment may influence the data more significantly in the early stages of the exposure Despite the sometimes erratic concentration patterns during the first days of the STD experiment the longer-term results and trends overlap between the three experiments (LTE providing the necessary confidence in the results presented as some of the compounds that are readily biodegradable do not see a decrease in relative concentrations of the duration of the experiments it is unlikely that biotic degradation has influenced the results of the current study It is important to consider that the exposure systems were not sterile and that microbial biotransformation and biodegradation of additive chemicals might occur once they have partitioned to the stomach oil These processes only require a small modification to the chemical structure (e.g. partial degradation) and the resulting biotransformation products would not be measured using the targeted analytical chemical methods developed for leachate characterization and quantification It is possible that specific chemicals will be more or less susceptible to such different processes but also that more than one of these mechanisms may act on an individual additive chemical at the same time In our attempts to document the leaching of different organic chemical additives from marine litter-derived microplastic test materials into the stomach oil of northern fulmars we encountered issues with the comparability of data from the three experiments The results in the LTE experiment and the STD experiment were sometimes inconsistent and we are unable to propose a satisfactory explanation for such discrepancies initially as part of the LTE experiment and then reanalyzed (LTR) together with the samples generated in the STD experiment All GC-MS analyses were performed in randomized order and blank samples were frequently analyzed to ensure there was no carryover of chemicals between samples and analyses and PS foam samples from the same batches (common source) were used in both the long- and short-term studies and it is suggested that any inhomogeneity in oil or plastic materials is relatively small and not responsible for the observed differences in the leachates as the comparability of A and B samples demonstrates The stomach oil was stored frozen prior to the LTE and quickly refrozen for storage between the LTE and STD exposure experiments there were no changes in the sampling protocol between the two studies we have chosen to regard the LTE experiment and STD experiment as separate studies representing short- and long-term exposures the strong similarities between many of the leaching profiles from the LTE experiment and the STD experiment samples together with the stable levels of contamination (in most cases) observed in the control samples and good overlap of A and B samples suggest sufficient reliability in the reported outcomes of this study It must be emphasized that leaching of chemicals to stomach oil in the current study was observed to occur in stomach oil that was already contaminated with chemicals from food and plastics ingested by the fulmar chicks during the 7-week nestling period The basic load of selected additives can be seen in the 0-measurements in this study as these represent the oil before any treatment our results provide the evidence that such leaching of additives or their degradation products from degrading plastic litter actually occurs in the marine environment from plastics ingested by a range of marine wildlife the models 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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Susanne Kühn, c3VzYW5uZS5rdWVobkB3dXIubmw= Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish more than 80% of the world’s population lives under light-polluted skies; a barrier preventing us from experiencing the beauty of the universe daan roosegaarde and UNESCO netherlands have come up with a solution to bring the night sky back to the people the project achieves this by switching off all non-essential household lights and street lights in collaboration with the residents by removing this light pollution on a city-wide scale ‘seeing stars’ enables everyone to reconnect with the universe and experience the magic of starlight again ‘everyone is now in their own little bubble, disconnected from each other,’ explains roosegaarde there is an amazing light performance hidden up high in our sky what if we switch off all the lights in a city seeing stars brings back the stars in your street the stars are only one switch away.’ all images: seeing stars by studio roosegaarde photography by albert dros and merel tuk movie by mediamonks and studio roosegaarde ‘everybody should have the right to see the stars through an unpolluted night sky,’ notes kathleen ferrier chairperson of the netherlands commission for UNESCO ‘looking at the stars makes you feel connected to each other this is the communal and universal heritage I strive for seeing stars is an important step forward.’ and the international dark-sky association have all previously advocated moments of darkness to increase human and animal well-being ‘seeing stars’ is part of this movement and acts as a radical premiere which is focussed on viewing the stars in your city the launch of the film ‘seeing stars’ marks the third project of the series ‘dreamscapes’ by studio roosegaarde and partners UNESCO netherlands ‘seeing stars’ brings the night sky back to the people the project enables everyone to reconnect with the universe and experience the magic of starlight artist: studio roosegaarde AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style Maarten van der Weijden tackles daunting course not used for skating in 22 years As Europe braces for a heatwave this week a Dutchman is swimming the route of the country’s most famed ice skating race which has not been held for two decades as the climate crisis bites Instead of skating the 121 miles (195km) of the daunting Elfstedentocht (11 cities race) the Olympic gold marathon swimmer Maarten van der Weijden is ploughing his way through its canals Van der Weijden passed the 172km mark of the course that criss-crosses northern Friesland province on Monday morning helping others and setting goals for myself,” the 38-year-old told the broadcaster EO Van der Weijden is a cancer survivor who overcame leukaemia to win a gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in the 10km open water race It is Van der Weijden’s second effort to complete the route after he failed last year. He is expected back in the Frisian capital, Leeuwarden, by Monday evening The swimmer is following the same route as the Elfstedentocht one of the Netherlands’ most beloved traditions the last time the ice was thick enough to support both skaters and the hundreds of thousands of spectators that the event normally attracts With meteorologists predicting ever-warmer weather because of global heating it is uncertain when another Elfstedentocht will be held again on ice Van der Weijden’s alternative marathon along the course has captured the country’s imagination The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, tweeted that the swimmer was “on course for an incredible performance” adding: “The whole of the Netherlands is swimming with you!” Completing the skating race is seen as a major achievement Soldiers who manage to do it are allowed to wear its medal Participants qualify for the medal after collecting stamps on a card from all the 11 cities around Friesland with the start and end of the race in Leeuwarden The oldest working planetarium in the world Eise Eisinga’s beautiful orrery (a mechanical model of the solar system) was finished in 1781 and enacts the motions of the planets with astonishing accuracy thanks to a hidden clockwork mechanism Unlike other upright orreries of the epoch Eise Eisinga’s planetarium simulated the workings of the solar system as realistically as possible and was placed on the ceiling of his living room the dials of the Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium Eise Eisinga recreate the exact colour of the ceiling planetarium and reproduce the real-time orbits of Mercury Jupiter and Saturn – along with the more mundane functions of hours Van der Klaauw is THE master of planetarium watch… And this new one is a superb tribute to Dutch horology When Christiaan van der Klaauw founded his astronomical complications atelier in 1974 perpetuating a longstanding Dutch fascination with astronomy Born in 1944 in the university town of Leiden Christiaan van der Klaauw attended the School for Instrument Makers (Lis) As the birthplace of the greatest Dutch scientist of all times and the site of the prestigious Leiden University the first university to boast an astronomical university in 1633 Christiaan van der Klaauw’s love of astronomy was His passion for all things related to the celestial dome initially resulted in ornate highly sophisticated clocks with animations like moon phases planetariums and astrolabes before scaling down to wristwatches in 1996 with the Satellite du Monde was equipped with the smallest mechanical planetarium in the world and made its debut in 1999 with a deviation of just one day every 11,000 years From Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) who discovered Saturn’s first satellite to Jan Hendrik Oort (1900-1992) pioneer of radio astronomy who calculated the mass of the Milky Way and proved that it is a fast rotating disc Holland has produced an exceptional amount of stargazers Among the distinguished roster is Eise Eisinga (1744-1828) a wool comber and amateur astronomer who gained international recognition for his scale model of the universe represented in sparkling gold and royal blue on the ceiling of his living room in Franeker Eisinga’s beautiful orrery (a mechanical model of the solar system) Constructed to a scale of 1 to 1 trillion (1mm:1million km) the planets still orbit the Sun with astonishing accuracy to this day there was no space left on Eisinga’s ceiling to accommodate the discovery of Uranus in 1781 by William and Caroline Herschel Neptune and Pluto were also missing because they were discovered in 1846 and 1930 respectively Historical accounts claim that Eisinga built the orrery to disprove a doomsday prediction made by Reverend Eelco Alta in 1774 that was causing a great deal of unrest among the population a conjunction of the Moon and four planets would push Earth out of its orbit directly into the incinerating flames of the Sun To provide a correct picture of the solar system and allay unfounded fears of a disastrous planetary conjunction Although Eisinga’s orrery was not completed in time (finished in 1781) to disprove the reverend’s prophecy of Armageddon it attracted the attention of King William I of the Netherlands who bought the mechanical wonder for the Dutch state in 1818 To re-enact the real-time orbit of the planets the miniature planetarium on the watch is recreated with a series of concentric stacked rotating discs and different coloured hand-painted spheres representing the six planets the planets appear in the following order determined by their orbits and proximity to the Sun: Mercury 87.97 days Jupiter 11.86 years and slow-moving Saturn 29.46 years Both the rose gold and steel models are housed in the classic round 40mm cases of the brand with straight lugs and an onion crown To recreate the exact blue colour of Eisinga’s ceiling and the texture of the timber planks the dial has been painted by hand with oil paints by artist Gaël Colon The brand’s signature golden Sun with 12 claws (Klaauw means claw in Dutch) is applied at 12 o’clock Below the Sun is the annual calendar complication with the days and months displayed in concentric silver discs and the founder’s name in the centre Six rose gold-plated Roman numerals are applied just above an imaginary horizon to avoid spoiling the spectacle of the planetarium Other hallmark CVDK touches are the Breguet-style hands for the hours and minutes The view from the reverse is no less captivating The rotor is hand-engraved with the six planets represented on the dial and the 12-clawed Sun in the centre The automatic movement is surmounted by the CVDK Planetarium module and equipped with twin barrels to provide a 96-hour power reserve The finishings are in keeping with the Haute Horlogerie pedigree of the brand with Geneva stripes on the bridges Expressions like ‘reach for the stars’ and ‘ask for the Moon’ pale when presented with this magnificent representation of our solar system CVDK’s Planetarium still manages to inspire genuine wonder and awe in the 21st-century just like Eisinga’s beautiful celestial representation must have done when incredulous visitors craned their necks and looked up to admire his ceiling in motion The CVDK Planetarium Eise Eisinga Limited Edition will be available in stainless steel (6 pieces) and rose gold (6 pieces) both presented on black leather strap with a folding clasp to match the metal of the case Each watch is engraved with the name of one of the six planets featured on the dial More information at Klaauw.com Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news You are receiving this pop-up because this is the first time you are visiting our site You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker) we are relying on revenues from our banners So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.Thanks SPAR is on a boat tour in the Dutch province of Friesland The one-person floating store set off on 14 July This is the first-ever floating one-person store in the Netherlands SPAR hopes to serve holidaymakers and day-trippers Water sports enthusiasts and recreational sailors can also place online orders That will be on the same day to the dock in these three locations First and only floating convenience storeSPAR CEO They did so in the Prinsentuin marina in Leeuwarden SPAR will further focus on personal convenience and local involvement," van der Ent says now we can supply consumers on the water too They can buy a quick breakfast or a tasty lunch Kicking off the summer campaignThe floating SPAR is the symbolic kick-off of SPAR's summer campaign "SPAR is the only store Dutch tourists will find all over the world Because who doesn't shop at SPAR while on holiday in Austria But this summer we're stay put in our own country That's why SPAR is launching this new campaign "SPAR is particularly relevant this summer You might stop at a SPAR Express for breakfast on your way to the amusement park Then you'll take along a healthy lunch from your local SPAR or SPAR city Or even end a lazy day on the beach with a SPAR easy meal." and FranekerThe floating 'SPAR on tour' was in and around Prinsentuin in Leeuwarden on 14 and 15 July The 'SPAR on tour's last stop is the Franeker harbor on 19 July "Not the (well-known Dutch skating event) Elfstedentocht yet But we're covering a good distance," laughs John 1-person store for a 1.5m societyAccording to Van der Ent SPAR's responding to the new normal with this one-person store They stand outside and receive stock and enforce the door policy Only one person's allowed inside at a time Online orders and deliveriesThe CEO calls on all holidaymakers in Friesland to stop by the 'SPAR on tour' "We have delicious meals and drinks for the road We're handing out' messages in a bottle' too Water sports lovers and amateur sailors can order groceries online Local SPAR store owners will then deliver these to the ports of Leeuwarden People who show this message when they visit a SPAR in one of these three towns will also get two free croissants and freshly-squeezed orange juice," John concludes FreshPublishers © 2005-2025 FreshPlaza.com This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The Eise Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker, Friesland, has become busier since it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status on Tuesday, said Adrie Warmenhoven, the planetarium’s director. He said two days after the announcement that the total number of visitors has doubled. “We normally receive around 150 visitors on a weekday in September. Now it is three hundred, which is quite a lot,” said Warmenhoven. He is pleased that the planetarium is gaining more brand recognition after obtaining the World Heritage status. The director said he expects the crowds to increase further next weekend. He advised people to buy a ticket in advance, “so that you can be sure that you can enter.” Since the coronavirus pandemic, the planetarium has been working with time slot reservations and a maximum number of visitors per day. “Built between 1774 and 1781, this property is a moving mechanical scale model of the solar system as it was known at the time. Conceived and built by an ordinary citizen – the wool manufacturer Eise Eisinga – the model is built into the ceiling and south wall of the former living room/bedroom of its creator,” UNESCO noted. The pendulum clock powers the model, which gives close approximations of the positions of the Sun, Earth, the Moon, and Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The distance between the planets is at scale, and the planet orbits are depicted in real time. The planetarium is the thirteenth place in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to wind up on the UNESCO list. That list also includes the Wadden Sea, the canal ring in Amsterdam, the windmills of Kinderdijk and the Willemstad city center on Curaçao. © 2012-2025, NL Times, All rights reserved. Update 13:09 - article updated with comments from the planetarium, mayor, province, and astronaut Andre Kuipers Eise Eisinga’s planetarium in Franker, Friesland, has been declared a World Heritage site. The UN organization UNESCO included the model of the solar system on the prestigious list on Tuesday. Eise Eisinga (1744-1828) was an entrepreneur involved in astronomy in his spare time. Between 1774 and 1781, he recreated the solar system in the ceiling of his living room. He did this to prove that doomsday scenarios were wrong. Eisinga made the six then-known planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn - and the moon revolve around the sun. A pendulum clock powers the system. The Royal Planetarium Eise Eisinga is the oldest working planetarium in the world. In response, the planetarium said it was pleased UNESCO recognized “the outstanding universal value of this impressively large model of our solar system.” Work on the application for World Heritage status began in 2003. According to Mayor Marga Waanders of the municipality of Waadhoeke, which covers Franeker, the recognition is “an invitation to all citizens of the world: experience in our planetarium the mighty workings of the solar system that we share with each other.” The planetarium is “heritage at its best,” said outgoing State Secretary Gunay Uslu, responsible for heritage policy. “Unique, irreplaceable, and it tells a special story that is also important far beyond the Netherlands.” She added that Eisinga built the planetarium “to dispel terrifying rumors with scientific evidence. That makes it still relevant.” The planetarium also received congratulations from other quarters. Astronaut and TV presenter Andre Kuipers called it a “magisterial work” and said the recognition was “justified and well deserved.” The cultural representative of Friesland, Sijbe Knol, responded with pride. “It is great to see that years of work have been rewarded for the Eise Eisinga Planetarium. We, as a province, are extremely proud of that.” The World Heritage List contains approximately 1,200 places around the world. The planetarium is the 13th place in the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the list. Others include the Wadden Sea, the Waterlinie, the Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam, Amsterdam’s canal belt, the windmills of Kinderdijk, and the center of Willemstad on Curacao. Photo: Erik Zachte via Wikimedia CommonsFraneker’s famous planetarium Photo: Erik Zachte via Wikimedia CommonsThe Eise Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker the oldest working planetarium in the world is being formally recommended for inclusion on the Unesco World Heritage list culture minister Ingrid van Engelshoven has confirmed The planetarium is a moving model of the solar system which Eisinga constructed between 1774 and 1781 in the ceiling of his own home It has been on the Unesco tentative list since 2011 There are currently 12 Dutch sites on the Unesco world heritage list, following the addition of the Lower German Limes and the ‘Colonies of Benevolence’ in Groningen and Drenthe earlier this year. The planetarium, which still works, and the rest of Eisinga’s home, are open to the public. We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day. Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days! We could not provide this service without you. If you have not yet made a contribution, you can do so here. Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey. While metropolitan areas like Amsterdam, Utrecht and Delft produce more wealth, that does not make their populations happier, the CBS said. In Friesland GDP per head of the population was €34,800 in 2021, well below the national average of €49,100. Nevertheless, the province has the happiest residents of all 12 provinces,the CBS figures show. Only Drenthe had a lower GDP. Amsterdam has the highest GDP per resident at almost €92,000. Frisians’ happiness is down to having plenty of contact with friends, family and neighbours, having good health and being happy in their homes, the CBS researchers say. The province has also plenty of pleasant countryside and relatively little pollution. By contrast, the Rijnmond area, which includes Rotterdam, is relatively prosperous in terms of GDP but scores poorly in terms of wider well-being, such as health, access to nature and employment. Its residents are also among the poorest in the Netherlands. Sneek Sneek was founded in the 10th century and served as an important trading hub for many years Like other mercantile cities in the Netherlands Sneek features a canal belt that was built in order to facilitate water traffic flowing through the city These waterways lead onto Sneek’s most iconic landmark: the Waterpoort a Mannerist-style gatehouse with two pointed turrets Sneek, Netherlands | hoch3fotografie / Unsplash This picturesque, coastal village serves as the county seat of Terschelling Island multi-tiered lighthouse called Brandaris stands in the centre of the village and has watched over Terschelling’s shores since the 16th century The village is surrounded by grassy dune lands and looks out onto the Wadden Sea – an area that’s protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site Cyclists through nature in Terschelling | Wim Van T Einde / Unsplash Dokkum Dokkum’s fortified town walls are among the most well-preserved structures of their kind in the Netherlands and follow a star-shaped canal that circles the city’s historic centre thousands of tulips burst into full bloom in gardens along these defenses creating a stunning walking route that flows through the city Dokkum also features two working windmills that stand on the western side of its bulwarks This coastal village developed around an ancient church called Mariakerk that was built on an artificial mound in the 13th century Although the church originally stood inland it currently overlooks Wierum’s shoreline due to floods and coastal erosion Wierum’s economy revolved around fishing and there are many monuments in the village dedicated to the trade including Mariakerk’s ship-shaped weather vane and a memorial on Wierum’s seawall honouring the memory of 22 fisherman who died at sea during a severe storm in 1893 Stairs on a sea dike with sheep in the north of Holland | Jurjen Veerman / Shutterstock its docks still receive considerable trade and feature many stunning buildings that attest to Harlingen’s seafaring heritage Sign up to our newsletter to save up to $800 on our unique trips See privacy policy which houses a large collection of academic artefacts Street with monumental houses in the center of the Frisian town of Franeker Makkum Makkum lies just beneath the Afsluitdijk causeway which connects Friesland with North Holland artificial hill that was built in order to safeguard against the frequent floods that plagued the area until the 20th century this seafaring town has developed into a major beach resort Due to its proximity to waterways that flowed between the North Sea and Zuiderzee, this former Hanseatic city was one of the most influential trading centres in Friesland for several centuries Many buildings from this time have survived until the present day including Bolsward’s stately town hall that’s recognised as one of the most complete examples of Frisian Renaissance architecture Canal houses in the center of the picturesque town of Bolsward in Friesland Sloten Sloten is the smallest city in Friesland and currently houses around 760 inhabitants Its small population mainly lives inside Sloten’s historic town walls which are surrounded by a wide moat that feeds into a nearby lake the city features several other points of interest including an 18th-century windmill and rows of charming waterside houses complete with pointed gables Tom Coggins writes about culture and travel Guides & Tips The Most Naturally Beautiful Destinations in the Netherlands See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in September Art 6 Highlights of Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in July See & Do Lesser-Known Summer Destinations to Visit in Europe Guides & Tips Beat the Crowds with these Alternative Summer Destinations Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in November See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Autumn See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in October Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in December See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Summer Guides & Tips This Is Europe's Ultimate Road Trip US: +1 (678) 967 4965 | UK: +44 (0)1630 35000 tripssupport@theculturetrip.com © Copyright 2025 The Culture Trip Ltd Every one of the colored, inedible ink cartridges has unique characteristics. By examining the microscopic particles, the NFI can determine which ATM the ink came from. If the police find money or a jacket with ink residue, the NFI can, therefore, determine that a suspect was likely involved in a certain ATM bombing. “It also happens regularly that we find suspects on the run with ink on their hands or in the car,’ Jos van der Stap, an ATM robbery specialist at the police, told the broadcaster. “The ink investigation can then prove that they were at the scene of the crime.” The new NFI database contains ink data from ATMs in the Netherlands and Germany. Two years ago, the NFI only conducted four ink investigations. This year, there have already been 70. The increase is mainly due to many ATM robberies in Germany, mainly committed by Dutch criminals. They started striking across the border since banks in the Netherlands removed and better secured their remaining ATMs. Banks in Germany have also started improving security around their banks and the police are seeing ATM bombers move further into Europe. The police suspect Dutch links to ATM explosions in Switzerland, Austria, France, and the Czech Republic. The NFI would, therefore, like to expand its database with data from other European countries. Harlingen makes a great place for a quick escape or a good base to spend longer exploring the locality Catch up on local culture Like so many towns of similar size Harlingen has a charming local museum staffed by enthusiastic locals who are happy to answer all your questions The Hannemanhuis has a particularly fine collection of local pottery and silverware but the building itself is well worth a visit It also offers an audio tour in four languages If pottery and tiles are your thing, the Harlinger Pottery and Tiles Factory [“Harlinger Aardewerk & Tegelfabriek”] is an authentic family business and claims to be the last company in the Netherlands to produce pottery and tiles in an original manner The factory is open every day but Sunday and happy to organise tours on request Go exploring with Willem Barentsz Harlingen’s harbour has a life-sized replica of the sailing ship which Willem Barentsz used in his efforts to find the north west passage only to become marooned on the ice for the winter of 1697 Barentsz survived the winter but died on the return journey home You can also visit a special exhibition about the voyage which is little known outside the Netherlands Annoy the locals and visit Franeker The rivalry between the good seafaring folk of Harlingen and the farmers and university students of nearby Franeker is legendary although it could be linked to an attempt by Franeker residents to steal Harlingen church bells in medieval times But Franeker is just 12 kilometres away and makes a great day out. In particular, the Eise Eisinga planetarium, finally nominated for inclusion on the Unesco world heritage list is well worth a visit. We wrote about a weekend in Franeker last year Where to eat Harlingen has all the usual suspects in terms of jolly café terraces with borrel hapjes, burgers and French fries as well as a sprinkling of more interesting eateries. We opted for ‘T Havenmatsje on the old harbour front for dinner We also had an excellent lunch in the sun at Eetcafe Nooitgedagt located in a building dating from 1647 and serving simple The café in the ferry terminal is a very bad choice for breakfast on Sunday Where to stay We stayed at the Boutique Hotel de Eilanden in a very large attic room with a massive and extremely comfortable bed The same team also operate Hotel Restaurant Zeezicht on the edge of the harbour If you are looking for great views, the Roofhouse overlooks the sea, but has a minimum stay of two nights or seven in the high season.  You can also stay in the light house or, alternatively in a 17 metre high crane in the harbour where you can turn the control cabin yourself to change the view How to get there Coming by car from Amsterdam the massive water works which cut off the Zuiderzee Arriva runs train services to the town from Leeuwarden and you can pick up regional buses in Alkmaar and Heerenveen Anything else If you have more than a weekend on your hands combine a stay in Harlingen with a trip over the Wadden Sea to the islands More information can now be published about the investigation by the police and the Public Prosecution Service of the Northern Netherlands into international drug trafficking that led to arrests at the beginning of March 2020 and the interception of a batch of almost 100 kilos of amphetamine The eight detained suspects - ranging in age from 28 to 55 - were arrested in Franeker They are suspected of (preparatory acts for) international trade in hard drugs participation in a criminal organization and possession of weapons The drug lines that came into view during this study ran from the Dutch province Friesland to Finland On Monday 2 March a transport of 86 packages of speed was intercepted in Groningen on highway A7 just before the German border Each package weighed approximately one kilogram This volume of drugs has an estimated street value (in Finland) of € 700,000 The investigation also revealed the preparations for a transport of 300 kilos of cocaine from South America to Australia about 170 police and defense personnel were deployed narcotics were purchased from the suspects at five pseudo-purchases These drugs - mostly amphetamine and a small amount of cocaine - were destined for England and Ireland Some suspects are members of the so-called Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs) It concerns a member of the Hells Angels Harlingen a member of the Hells Angels Finland and a member of the Red Devils in Leeuwarden More arrests are not excluded in the course of further investigation The Finnish Hells Angel was transferred to the Netherlands on Friday 20 March and placed under arrest He was brought before the examining magistrate on Monday The examining magistrate has decided that the suspect will remain in pre-trial detention for a period of 14 days the Criminal Investigation Department searched premises in eleven different locations: Franeker brass knuckles and pepper spray were seized A number of weapons were found in a plastic barrel in the ground The searches also found 16 blocks of hashish and more than 300 hemp plants GHB and ecstasy and necessities used in drug production The remains of an underground hemp nursery were found at one of the addresses a house with a estimated  value of 350,000 euros was seized some expensive watches whose exact value will be determined and three vehicles including a BMW with a value of around 100,000 euros Nearly 100,000 euros worth of cash has been found in various places a criminal civilian infiltrator was used as a special investigative tool The criminal civilian infiltrator has given the criminal investigation officer a unique insight into the criminal environment of which he was a part The detectives could never have built up that insight without his help The possibility of deploying criminal civilian infiltrators is regulated by Dutch law Only by someone who is in close contact with criminals is it possible to break through the shielding methods that criminals use Deployment of a criminal civilian infiltrator involves a careful decision-making process A criminal civilian infiltrator is usually (or has been) active within groups that are being investigated or are closely associated with criminals That also makes him valuable for a criminal investigation ------------------------------------------------ Further explanation of the press release can be given by: Press Office Public Prosecution Service Northern Netherlands Science magazine It is undeniably an ambitious vision. Boyan Slat, a charismatic 22-year-old drop-out inventor, plans to clean up plastic trash circulating in the North Pacific Gyre by launching a fleet of floating trash collectors Ocean currents would propel floating plastic trash into curved floating booms which would funnel trash toward a central tank The group hopes to eventually finance the operation by recycling the plastic and selling it as a branded product or raw material Slat already has a pair of sunglasses made from recycled Pacific plastic Critics also worry that the high-tech clean-up project could distract from less glamorous efforts to lessen the use of plastic Slat’s 4-year-old organization, The Ocean Cleanup, based in Delft, the Netherlands, is well on its way to launching its first unit. At an event tonight in the Werkspoorkathedraal—an industrial meeting hall in Utrecht the Netherlands—Slat unveiled a new design that he says will allow The Ocean Cleanup to deploy its first collector in 2018 It will also collect trash at twice the rate of earlier designs Read the full story, including the arguments on both sides, at Science magazine plus all the latest on yachting regattas and offshore adventures around the world Sign In Subscribe Now 2018It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Case Wiersma Grampa will also be forever remembered by his 15 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines. 1 Dokkum (the only one of the 11 without a different name in Friesian) In olden times Dutch school children were taught that ‘Bonifacius was killed at Dokkum’ was an 8th century Anglo-Saxon missionary who went around converting barbarians to Christianity very successfully until he met his match in the Friesians who killed him for his pains The town has done very well out of Bonifatius ever since and you can even do a Bonifatius route Dokkum has some beautiful historic buildings and boasts the oldest weekly market in the country 2 IJlst (Drylts) A place of pilgrimage for true skating fanatics: here stood the famous Nooitgedagt factory which made the wooden skates that still sees many a pensioner glide elegantly over the ice Van geslacht op geslacht: Nooitgedagt was its slogan: from generation to generation: Nooitgedagt Nooitgedagt no longer exists but one of the factory buildings is still standing and houses a museum. IJlst is also home to a rather fine sawmill 3 Workum (Warkum) Workum is home to the popular Jopie Huisman museum Huisman was a self-taught artist who specialised in the realistic depiction of workmen’s tools and dress The town’s annual ‘strontrace’ or ‘shit race’ is a reconstruction of the journey made by sailing ships transporting  manure to the bulb country in the province of Zuid-Holland The arrival of artificial manure stopped the Friesians from turning muck into brass but the old sailing ships – no motors allowed – are still a splendid sight 4 Leeuwarden (Ljouwert) Leeuwarden boasts the country’s ‘most underestimated’ city centre, according to its tourist website. The home of Mata Hari and Escher, Leeuwarden has some great cocktails and some nice little museums. So much so, you could spend a weekend there. 5 Franeker (Frjentsjer) Franeker hosts the most important annual kaats competition in Friesland called the P.C. (the letters stand for Permanent Committee, the body that started organised kaatsen in 1854). The Eise Eisinga planetarium is also worth a visit Eise Eisinga carded wool for a living like his father before him but was also seriously clever He built the planetarium to show that the 1774 convergence of several planets would not result in the end of the world as some apocalyptic scaremongers had people believe Of course he was right and his planetarium 6 Harlingen (Harns) Its strategic position on the WaddenSea secured Harlingen’s future as a prosperous trading city It is also said that its early orientation on outside trading partners accounts for its uneasy relationship with the other 10 elfsteden towns The Friesian language, for instance, is barely spoken in Harlingen. The town has many historical buildings and if you should decide to spend the night you can do so in the local light house or dangling from a 17 metre high crane in the harbour 7 Hindeloopen (Hylpen) Hindeloopen is another port town Its peak came in the early 17th century but unlike its much bigger neighbour to the north it is now content to be just a cute tourist destination The Hindeloopen painting style – flowers and curlicues on a white, green, red or blue background – is the town’s main claim to fame. The people of Hindeloopen couldn’t get enough of it and covered absolutely every piece of furniture in it. The Hindeloopen  Museum has lots of examples and more Hindeloopen history – including skating Bolsward (Boalsert) Boslward is where weary skaters and cyclists stop for a pick-me-up. It is home to Sonnema Berenburg and Friesian micro brewery Us Heit (which makes a special Elfsteden beer and also produces a single malt whisky) The Sint Martini Church stands on the oldest one and Bolsward is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands 9 Sneek (Snits) Sneek is famous for its annual water sports festival Sneekweek when thousands of people converge upon the city The symbol of Sneek is its 15th century Waterpoort or water gate built to prevent access to the city by water More things sea and trade related are explained in the Fries Scheepvaart Museum in the Kleinzand, a canal on which the wealthy traders of the 17th and 18th centuries built their homes. Sneek is another of the cities of Friesland where you can easily spend a weekend 10 Sloten (Sleat) Sloten thinks big when it comes to being small: with about 760 inhabitants it prides itself on being the smallest city of the country Its ambition doesn’t stop there: it would also like to be recognised as the smallest city in the world This means it takes about five minutes to ‘do’ Sloten which is not good for tourist revenue Sloten’s annual ‘vrijmarkt’ or free market attracts bargain hunters from far and wide The market has nothing to do with onions but refers to the shape of the old town Stavoren, Friesland’s oldest town, is well-known for its watersports facilities, but those who are into less strenuous activities will be pleased to know that they can visit the town’s ‘orchid farm’ The Friesians have a thing about size as we have seen in Sloten: both the tropical garden and the butterfly valley are the biggest in Europe Stavoren is famous for the story of the ‘Vrouwtje van Stavoren’ (the little woman of Stavoren) a rich merchant’s widow who sent one of her ships to find the most valuable thing in the world The woman angrily ordered the grain to be dumped into the sea Warned that such extravagance might end in poverty she threw a gold ring into the sea and said she would no more be poor than the ring would find its way back to her Then one day the kitchen maid brought her the ring which had been found in the belly of a fish Stavoren has honoured the greedy thing with a statue The Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium is an 18th-century orrery located in the living room of a small Its moving model of the solar system was constructed between 1774 and 1781 by Eise Eisinga a Frisian wool comber and amateur astronomer Eisinga expected to finish the planetarium within six months He used a scale of 1: 1,000,000,000,000 (1 millimeter: 1 million kilometers) so that it would fit into his living room there are displays of the phase of the moon and other astronomical phenomena A pendulum clock and a series of intricate mechanical gears drive the planets at the precise rate they do in our solar system The “face” of the model looks down from the ceiling of what used to be his living room with most of the mechanical works in the space above the roof The planets move automatically around the model in real time (a slight “re-setting” must be done by hand every four years to compensate for the February 29th of a leap year.) The planetarium includes a display for the current time and date The plank that has the year numbers written on it has to be replaced every 22 years Eisinga’s planetarium was built to stop doomsday prophecies It was designed to disprove a contemporary prophecy that certain planets were on a collision course and that the end of the world was It could demonstrate that the planets were actually in conjunction The Eisinga Planetarium received a lot of visitors when it opened When King William I visited the planetarium in 1818 he was so impressed that he subsequently bought it for the Dutch state his family continued to run the planetarium until 1922 the planetarium is still in full working order and is completely intact Maintenance is still carried out and is now run by curators appointed by the city of Franeker David Goran is one of the authors writing for The Vintage News Join 1000s of subscribers and receive the best Vintage News in your mailbox for FREE