Taylor Swift Playlist Highlights UW Planetarium Schedule During New Year

Swifties, as fans of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift are known, can rock out to her catchy tunes at the University of Wyoming Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium during the new year.

“Our schedule for January will feature a new Taylor Swift playlist in addition to our lineup of entertaining and educational programs,” says Max Gilbraith, the planetarium’s coordinator. “We’re also excited to offer bulk tickets/gift cards. They make a great gift for your family and friends with tickets at just $2 each when you purchase 10 or more.”

To receive a bulk ticket/gift card, email planetarium@uwyo.edu.

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 or online tickets, 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 January schedule is:

-- Tuesday, Jan. 16, 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, Jan. 19, 7 p.m.: “Aurora Dancing Lights.” For millennia, our ancestors looked in awe at the “dawn in the north” or Aurora Borealis. What causes this display? Where does it occur? Do other planets also have aurorae? Take a tour from the surface of the sun out to the magnetic poles of the solar system to find out.

-- Saturday, Jan. 20, 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, Jan. 20, 7 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: Taylor Swift,” a music-based light show. Enjoy a custom playlist of music from all eras of Taylor Swift 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, Jan. 26, 7 p.m.: “Yellowstone to Enceladus.” This program explores and compares the volcanic power of the geysers under Yellowstone National Park to ice plumes beneath the surface of a moon of Saturn.

-- Saturday, Jan. 27, 2 p.m.: “5,000 Eyes: Mapping the Universe With DESI,” a full-dome movie. The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is creating the most detailed map of our nearby universe. Installed on the Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in southern Arizona, DESI’s 5,000 independently operated robots can measure the light from thousands of galaxies at once. Explore the science, instrument and people behind this global endeavor.

-- Saturday, Jan. 27, 7 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: Indie Rock,” a music-based light show. Enjoy a custom playlist of “out-of-this-world” music from top indie rock 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, Jan. 30, 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.

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