For the month of April, we have some new things to announce:

• Monday, April 7: The planet Saturn is still bright in the early part of the night, so in honor of the ringed world, we will present a short show on the results from the Cassini robotic probe mission.  Expect some truly beautiful graphics and news about the intriguing ice moon Enceladus.
• Monday, April 21: We present “Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity”. This program was created by Thomas Lucas Productions in collaboration with Denver Museum of Nature & Science, NOVA and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. The show is narrated by Liam Neeson, and features truly exciting animations.

Both shows begin at 7:30 PM. Admission is $5 per adult, $3 per child under 18, and $10 for a family of 3 or more. Lambuth students get in free with their ID.

Posted by Matthew R. Francis under Planetarium News & Public Events | No Comments »

Tonight (March 3), the Planetarium will be showing Hubble Vision 2 at 7:30 PM, and will also include a short star show following the main attraction.

Admission is $5 per adult, $3 per child under 18, and $10 for a family of 3 or more. Lambuth students get in free with their ID.

(There is a small chance that severe weather may interfere with tonight’s program.  I will post an update if the show is canceled.)

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Since the weather tomorrow night looks to be nasty, I think we will not have a lunar eclipse party after all.  I apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment!  Perhaps next eclipse season the weather will cooperate better.

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As I promised, here is the rundown of last Saturday’s Grand Reopening.

• Over 200 people attended, consisting of all ages from babies on up
• The Chemistry Magic Shows were big successes, and got coverage in the Jackson Sun. I think the kids liked the magic shows more than anything else that went on!
• The shows and displays in the library and in Hyde Hall were well attended, and enjoyed by all.
• About 60 people came to the keynote address, presented by Lawrence Krauss, and many people had a chance to meet and talk with Prof. Krauss at the reception following the presentation

All in all, I think we had a successful day. Photos are behind the link:
Continue Reading »

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A big thank you to everyone who made Saturday’s Grand Reopening a success!  We had between 200 and 300 people over the course of the day.

I will post pictures and specific thank-yous later this week, so keep an eye on this space.

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The Planetarium Grand Reopening begins in just over an hour! I hope to see a big crowd today, since we have lots of exciting stuff, including:

• Magic shows by the Lambuth chemistry club at 1:30 and 2:30 in Hyde Hall, Room 215
• The Gobbel Library will be showing two videos: “Welcome to Mars: NASA’s Ongoing Search for Life Beyond Earth” will be presented at 1:30, and “The Dark Side of the Universe,” a Scientific American Frontiers presentation narrated by Alan Alda, will be presented at 2:30. In addition, there will be displays designed by the library student staff, along with books by the keynote speaker, Dr. Lawrence Krauss.
• Walk-through displays in Hyde Hall, depicting the history of life on Earth, presented by Lambuth biology students and faculty
• Scale models of the planets, presented by Lambuth art students and faculty
• And, of course, a brand-new planetarium show created just for the event: “See How Far the Light Came: A Journey from Our Solar System Outward”. Viewings will be held at 1:30, 2:00, 2:30, and 3:00.
• The Keynote Address will be presented by Dr. Lawrence Krauss at 4:00 PM in the Hamilton Performing Arts Center. Immediately following the keynote will be a reception, to which all are invited.

All events are free, and all are welcome!

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A few random announcements:

• I will be talking about the planetarium and the Grand Reopening on “Good Morning West Tennessee” (WBBJ-TV, Channel 7 in Jackson) at 6 AM on Thursday, February 7.
• The first public night is still on track for Monday, February 18 starting at 7:30 PM. We will be showing Hubble Vision 2, which was developed by Loch Ness Productions.
  
• The next total lunar eclipse visible in this part of the world happens on Thursday, February 21, beginning around sundown and reaching totality around 9 PM. I’m thinking of having a planetarium-hosted viewing of the event (weather permitting of course), with telescopes out on the lawn. Keep an eye on this space for more details as we get closer to the day.
• There is also an annular solar eclipse tomorrow (February 7), but unless you’re a penguin, you probably won’t be able to see it.  The eclipse will only be visible in Antarctica and the southern Pacific Ocean.

And of course, don’t forget about the Grand Reopening on February 9!

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Here is a printable poster to advertise the Grand Reopening (PDF format). Please feel free to print it and post it wherever appropriate!

(Thanks to Holley Wood for creating the poster!)

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The planetarium will resume holding public nights on February 18, 2008 at 7:30 PM, with a viewing of “Hubble Vision 2″.  Subsequent public nights will be the first and third Mondays of each month at 7:30 PM.

Admission will be $5 per adult, $3 per child under 18, and $10 for a family of 3 or more.  Lambuth students get in free with their ID.

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I have begun working in earnest on the planetarium show for February 9, and finally have a title for it:

“See How Far the Light Came: A Journey from Our Solar System Outward”

The purpose of the show is to demonstrate the abilities of the new projector, but also to connect our programming to Prof. Krauss’ keynote address.

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