New Programming Highlights UW Planetarium Schedule During August

During August, the University of Wyoming Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium will introduce some new programming, including adding indie folk and K-pop playlists to its Saturday evening music rotation as well as providing a one-year update on the work of the James Webb Space Telescope.

“We are excited for several new and recurring special programs to occur with the commencement of the fall semester here at the University of Wyoming,” says Max Gilbraith, the planetarium’s coordinator. “‘Mesmerica 360’ will resume showing Fridays and Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. beginning Aug. 25 but for only a limited time.”

To get tickets or receive more information about programs, email planetarium@uwyo.edu or leave a voicemail and a call-back phone number at (307) 766-6506. Tickets are $5 for the public and $3 for students, senior citizens, veterans, first responders and those under 18. Seating is free for children under 5.

Reservations or pre-purchase is not required, and walk-ins are welcome. Tickets can be purchased online with a credit card, reserved by email or voicemail, or purchased at the start of the show. Cash or check is accepted at the door. The planetarium, which seats 64, is in the basement of the Physical Sciences Building. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis outside of designated ADA/wheelchair seating.

To pay for tickets with a credit card, go to https://www.uwyo.edu/uwplanetarium/ticket.aspx. For a group larger than six, email the planetarium for a private show at https://uwyo.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bKuqIynOn7gFK2F. Tickets for private shows are the same as the public programs.

A film and special live talk for audiences will be featured each week. All programs are approximately an hour in length. As time allows, a portion of the show also may focus on a live sky tour or supporting information related to the film’s topic.

The August schedule is:

-- Friday, Aug. 4, 7 p.m.: “Leftovers! Asteroids, Comets, Meteors and Rings.” From a young age, we learn about the eight major planets. But what about everything else in the solar system, including bright meteor streaks in the sky, fireballs, comet tails and craters? Space missions have just begun exploring the asteroid Bennu and comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. What is NASA doing to learn about and defend Earth from these celestial curiosities?

-- Saturday, Aug. 5, 2 p.m.: “Seeing!,” a full-dome movie. The film follows the journey of a single photon as it is produced in a distant star, before traveling across the vast expanse of space to land on someone’s retina. This film is narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

-- Saturday, Aug. 5, 7 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: Indie Folk,” a music-based light show. Enjoy a custom playlist of “out-of-this-world” music from genre artists in 5.1 surround sound. The 4K-resolution planetarium sky will become a canvas of color, patterns and movement with cutting-edge music visualization software and live VJ talent.

-- Tuesday, Aug. 8, 7 p.m.: “Wyoming Skies.” The program provides an exploration of the stars, constellations, planets, meteor showers and other celestial phenomena visible from Wyoming for the season.

-- Friday, Aug. 11, 7 p.m.: “James Webb Space Telescope.” The next-generation space telescope launched in 2021. The epic mission to send a tennis court-sized observatory past the moon will reveal the mysteries of the universe like never before. This program will detail the exciting science objectives and the knuckle-biting engineering feats that have gone into our next eyes in the sky.

-- Saturday, Aug. 12, 2 p.m.: “Cosmic Origins Spectrograph,” a full-dome movie. This film highlights the current research of the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, the last instrument installed by NASA astronauts. COS allows an unprecedented view into the vast spaces between galaxies that surround the Milky Way.

-- Saturday, Aug. 12, 7 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: EDM,” a music-based light show. Enjoy a custom playlist of “out-of-this-world” music from genre artists in 5.1 surround sound. The 4K-resolution planetarium sky will become a canvas of color, patterns and movement with cutting-edge music visualization software and live VJ talent.

-- Friday, Aug. 18, 7 p.m.: “Mars.” The Red Planet is host to many questions: Did Mars used to be like Earth? Did it once harbor life? Could it still support life today? And is it a future home for humans? Landers, rovers, probes and satellites have returned data to Earth for decades, and we have more clues every day.

-- Saturday, Aug. 19, 2 p.m.: “The Sun: Our Living Star,” a full-dome movie. The sun consumes 600 million tons of hydrogen each second and is 500 times as massive as all of the planets combined. Viewers will discover the secrets of the sun and experience never-before-seen images of its violent surface.

-- Saturday, Aug. 19, 7 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: K-Pop,” a music-based light show. Enjoy a custom playlist of “out-of-this-world” music from genre artists in 5.1 surround sound. The 4K-resolution planetarium sky will become a canvas of color, patterns and movement with cutting-edge music visualization software and live VJ talent.

-- Friday, Aug. 25, 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.: “Mesmerica” is described as a visual musical journey that brings the mesmerizing music of Grammy-nominated composer and percussionist James Hood together with visually hypnotic, 3D-animated art curated from artists around the world. “Mesmerica” is a special event outside of the planetarium’s regular monthly schedule.

-- Friday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m.: “Black Holes.” Are black holes nature’s mistake or portals to the unknown? Physics allows speculation about the nature of these bizarre structures, but astronomers are taking a closer look at these mysterious and fascinating objects.

-- Saturday, Aug. 26, 2 p.m.: “Cosmic Mashups: Gravity, Galaxies and Supermassive Black Holes,” a full-dome movie. Supermassive black holes are found in most galaxies, and scientists are beginning to uncover how the merging of galaxies activates galactic centers. This film is produced by Fiske Planetarium and a University of Colorado-Boulder professor and a former graduate student through a National Science Foundation grant. 

-- Saturday, Aug. 26, 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.: “Mesmerica” is described as a visual musical journey that brings the mesmerizing music of Grammy-nominated composer and percussionist James Hood together with visually hypnotic, 3D-animated art curated from artists around the world. “Mesmerica” is a special event outside of the planetarium’s regular monthly schedule.

-- Saturday, Aug. 26, 7 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: Retro Hits,” a music-based light show. Enjoy a custom playlist of “out-of-this-world” music from top artists in genres of rock, indie, pop, electronic and more in 5.1 surround sound. The 4K-resolution planetarium sky will become a canvas of color, patterns and movement with cutting-edge music visualization software and live VJ talent.

For more detailed descriptions of these programs, go to www.uwyo.edu/physics/planetarium/schedule.html.