The plaza in front of the Makarska Observatory hosted, on Friday and Saturday, the 13th edition of the summer Space Days — a scientific event organized by the local association DAUP Orion which, with its two-day program, has for years successfully drawn audiences, especially fans of astronomy and ufology.

This summer’s guest lecturer was Prof. Vernesa Smolčić, PhD — an astrophysicist and full professor at the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science (PMF), University of Zagreb — while multimedia lectures on the Solar System and the world of galaxies, accompanied by numerous animations, brought around a hundred visitors on both evenings to the Monument to the Revolution on Glavica Hill.

After the lectures, attendees could also purchase at promotional prices Dr. Vernesa Smolčić’s book “Astro Cookbook” as well as the picture book “Dogs in Space.” Although nighttime cloud cover spoiled the planned observation of the Perseids this time, there is no doubt that the thirteenth Space Days achieved its aim even without it.

I believe visitors were able to enjoy both evenings and Dr. Smolčić’s lectures themselves — about the formation of our Solar System, the planets, and the wealth of layers that make up our Solar System. On the second evening we set off on a journey through our galaxy and then through space and time to our nearest neighbor, Andromeda, and then further and further to the beginnings of the first galaxies — and back again. Alongside all these cosmic marvels, we also gained a unique insight into the scientific work of our guest lecturer, based on data from numerous radio-spectrum space telescopes surveying a segment of the night sky,

• Head of the Observatory Gloryan Grabner

We thank the City of Makarska and the Association of Technical Culture of the Split-Dalmatia County for co-financing our scientific event again this year.