Astronomical Institute at Astrofest 2026. From Low Earth Orbit to traces of cosmic matter

At AstroFest 2026, the outreach team of the Astronomical Institute offered the public an introduction to one of the most dynamic regions of near-Earth space - Low Earth Orbit, known as LEO.

Starting from the presentation dedicated to this topic, delivered on the event stage by our colleague Cristian Omăt, we discussed the increasingly rapid densification of the space in Earth’s immediate vicinity. LEO hosts commercial satellite constellations, scientific missions, observation satellites, telecommunications, remote sensing, and Earth monitoring systems. The data presented highlighted the scale of the phenomenon, as thousands of satellites are already operational, while thousands more are inactive satellites.

This topic is important for the work of the Astronomical Institute because the study of LEO involves the continuous development of know-how and advanced technologies for identifying and interpreting objects moving across the sky. In this context, at the Astronomical Institute’s stand at Astrofest 2025, visitors asked us how we track space objects, what role optical instruments play, and why understanding the environment around Earth is important.

To connect the theoretical information with direct experience, we presented an all-sky camera as a concrete example of an instrument used in astronomical observations. Alongside it, asteroid prints correlated with meteorite fragments completed the story of objects orbiting Earth, small bodies of the Solar System, and cosmic material that has reached the terrestrial surface. Thus, visitors to the IAAR stand were able to gain a better understanding of both Earth’s place in the Solar System and the characteristics of these types of space objects.

Through other specialized instruments of AIRA, the public was able to gain a reference point for direct eyepiece observations, ranging from very nearby objects to cosmic bodies such as our neighboring star, the Sun.

Published on: Jun 17, 2026