11th and last Open Day at GEO600
Visit the gravitational-wave detector near Sarstedt on 4 July 2026
To the point
- Cutting-edge research up close: On 4 July 2026 an Open Day will take place at the gravitational-wave detector GEO600 south of Hannover.
- Last chance: Becaue the German-British detector will cease operations at the end of the year, this will be the last Open Day.
- When? Saturday, 04 July 2026 from 12:00 to 16:00 CEST.
- Where? Ruthe near Sarstedt. Come by public transport, bicycle, or car.
- Prior registration is not required. We're looking forward to your visit!
On Saturday, 4 July 2026, the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) and the Institute for Gravitational Physics at Leibniz Universität Hannover invite you for the eleventh time to visit the German-British gravitational-wave detector GEO600 near Sarstedt. Between 12:00 and 16:00 CEST, all guests can speak with researchers at the detector site about the current state of gravitational-wave astronomy and the contributions of GEO600 as a think tank of international research, and they can visit the detector.
This year’s Open Day will be the last. The gravitational-wave detector project will cease operations at the end of 2026. In addition to the Open Day the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics also offers guided tours for registered groups until the end of 2026.
Cutting-edge research up close
At the Open Day, guests will receive first-hand information about basic research and daily work at the GEO600 gravitational-wave detector. At four stations on the detector site, researchers will explain how GEO600 works, offer insights into the heart of the highly sensitive measuring facility, and answer visitors' questions.
Getting there by public transport and bike
The GEO600 site is located south of the Leinemasch near the Innerste river and can be reached via a detour from the “Grüner Ring” cycle path. A visit to GEO600 can therefore be conveniently combined with a bike tour. With your bike you can ride directly onto the site and up to the central building of GEO600.
By public transport you can get to the Sarstedt train station (from Hanover with the S4, the erixx and the Metronom, on weekends bicycle transport is allowed free of charge on the Greater Hanover public transport system). From there you can take a bus, a cab, continue by bike to GEO600 or take a walking tour (about 4 kilometers).
Directions from Hanover by car
Take the B6 (Messeschnellweg) south and turn right at “Sarstedt/Heisede”. Turn right to Heisede, then turn left at “Schulenburg/Ruthe”. In Ruthe turn right. After crossing the Leine River, turn right at the EXPO sign (or at the white sign “Universität Hannover/Versuchsgelände” or the green sign “Schäferberg”).
Parking
Please do not drive your car to the central building of GEO600. If you arrive by car, please use only the guided parking facilities at the Lehr- und Forschungsgut Ruthe of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover. From the parking lot it is a short walk of about one kilometer to the central building of the gravitational-wave observatory along the 600 meter long laser arm of GEO600.
Background information
A new era of astronomy
The first direct observation of gravitational waves in September 2015 opened a new door to a previously hidden side of our Universe. Since then, researchers have identified a total of more than 90 gravitational-wave signals from merging pairs of black holes and neutron stars. A new era of astronomy has begun. In the last, fourth joint observation run run “O4”, the gravitational-wave detectors have been detecting a new signal from the depths of space every two to three days.
GEO600 is instrumental in this effort as it develops and tests new technologies for gravitational-wave detection. These are important for the sensitivity of the other detectors in the international network. The Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017 and other major science prizes were awarded to the international research community that operates these detectors, continually improves them and analyzes their data.
Next level GEO600
Research at GEO600 will continue until the end of 2026, as scientists are once again breaking new ground with the detector. They are working to make a previously little-explored part of the gravitational-wave spectrum accessible. GEO600 will search for gravitational waves at very high frequencies of up to 2 MHz. That is more than a hundred times higher than the highest frequencies observed by the other instruments in the international network.
This way, the detector is expected to deepen our understanding of dark matter and the early Universe. With this goal in mind, the researchers have been upgrading the facility since the summer of 2024. They have already reached important milestones and recorded first measurement data in the extremely high-frequency part of the gravitational-wave spectrum.