Travel beyond Earth and experience the universe alongside the most powerful observatories ever built by humankind, including the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, as they reveal the birth of stars, lava-covered exoplanets, and the edge of a black hole through striking, immersive visuals grounded in science.
Designed for curious minds, space enthusiasts, and anyone seeking a unique experience in Brussels, Starstruck offers a powerful new way to connect with the incredible scale, mystery, and beauty of our universe. The experience was also recently selected for competition at Venice Immersive, part of the 2026 Venice International Film Festival.
Smithsonian Starstruck: An Immersive Experience opens in September at Tour & Taxis, Shed 4 bis, Avenue du Port 86C, 1000 Brussels—join the waitlist to be notified first.
Smithsonian Les mystères du cosmos : an immersive experience
24 October 2026 10:00 + more dates
Tour & Taxis Shed 4 bis
What to Expect at Smithsonian Starstruck?
Starstruck combines rigorous science, powerful storytelling, and cutting-edge immersive technology, transforming the mysteries of deep space into an experience to see, hear, and live. Using astronomical data and visuals, Starstruck reimagines iconic 2D space images—including the famous Pillars of Creation—as fully immersive 3D worlds. Visitors don’t just observe the cosmos—they step inside it.
Here’s a glimpse of what awaits you:
- Begin your cosmic journey: meet your guide, Astro, at the summit of Mount Hopkins in Arizona, home to the Whipple Observatory operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. From there, your journey takes a celestial turn, aboard the most powerful telescopes ever built, heading toward the far reaches of the galaxy.
- Immerse yourself in the Sun: a quick detour to the Sun lets you observe solar flares 30 times larger than Earth and hear their vibrations. Feel the energy that powers all life on our planet, captured directly by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe—the spacecraft that made the closest flyby of our star ever recorded—and which is still operational today.
- Explore Janssen, the diamond planet: set foot on an alien landscape covered in molten lava. Watch volcanoes erupt in the distance and fissures run through the ground, revealing vast, sparkling diamond structures. Discover why Earth possesses the precise conditions for life—a rare position known as the Goldilocks zone.
- Witness the death of Betelgeuse: watch as Betelgeuse, a red supergiant, explodes in a spectacular supernova, its final breath recycling stellar matter into the building blocks of future stars, planets, and perhaps even future life.
- Facing black holes: stand on the edge of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, and witness a star falling into its grasp, sending a jet of debris scattering across the galaxy.
📍 Tour & Taxis, Shed 4 bis, Avenue du Port 86C, 1000 Brussels
