The Denver Museum of Nature and Science presents…

Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity

Narrated by Liam Neeson

The show will be presented on

• April 21 at 7:30 PM
• May 5 at 7:30 PM
• May 19 at 7:30 PM

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

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

Tonight (Monday, April 7) at 7:30, the M. D. Anderson Planetarium presents “Saturn:  News from the Ringed Planet”.  This interactive, informal presentation will discuss the discoveries made over the last 30 years about the planet Saturn, including very recent findings by the Cassini robotic probe.  We will…

• Take a close look at the magnificent ring system
• Zoom in on the surprisingly turbulent cloudy atmosphere
• Explore the wide range of bizarre moons, including smoggy Titan and volcanic Enceladus

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

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

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 »

The brightest object ever seen in the universe was detected last week: a gamma ray burst 7.5 billion light years away. For a brief time, the afterglow of the huge explosion could be seen with the unaided eye in the constellation of Boötes. To put 7.5 billion years in perspective: the Earth is 4.6 billion years old, and the entire universe is 13.7 billion years old. This means that, when the light was emitted from this gamma ray burst, the Earth hadn’t even formed!

This image shows the afterglow in X-rays (left) and in ultraviolet light (right). The March 28 Astronomy Picture of the Day has more information.

Posted by Matthew R. Francis under Science News | No Comments »

Tonight (March 17), the Planetarium will be showing Hubble Vision 2 at 7:30 PM, and will also include a short star show following the main attraction.  In addition to talking about the stars and planets visible this week, I will discuss briefly the astronomical significance of the vernal equinox, and its connection with the holidays of Easter and Passover.

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 Director's Notes | 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.)

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

The Jackson Sun ran a nice article on the Grand Reopening in yesterday’s “Neighbors” section. You can read it online at
http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080227/LIFESTYLE08/802270301/1032

Posted by Matthew R. Francis under Grand Reopening & Planetarium News | No Comments »

The schedule of public shows has been updated to include the regular public nights for the months of March and April. I am also working on ideas for other public events, so keep an eye out for those.

Speaking of keeping an eye on things, did you know you know that you can receive instant Planetarium news updates for free in your email client, web browser, or Internet-enabled mobile device? You can do this through RSS news feeds: just navigate to http://planetarium.lambuth.edu/rss to subscribe, and you’ll never have to miss another planetarium announcement again!

Posted by Matthew R. Francis under Director's Notes | No Comments »

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.

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

Tonight (February 18) is the first Public Night in the revamped planetarium.  We will be showing Hubble Vision 2, which was developed by Loch Ness Productions.

The show begins at 7:30 PM, and will also include a short star show.

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 Director's Notes | No Comments »