Valentine’s Day Program Highlights UW Planetarium Schedule During February

Love will be in the air with a Valentine’s Day program, and patrons can rock out again to the sounds of Taylor Swift at the University of Wyoming Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium during February.

“We are excited to bring back the Liquid Sky Taylor Swift program Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. The last show sold out, so get tickets early,” says Max Gilbraith, the planetarium’s coordinator. “We'll be open for ‘Hearts in the Sky,’ a special Wednesday program Feb. 14 to celebrate Valentine’s Day.”

Additionally, Gilbraith says a new anthropologically focused program called “Earth at Night” will premiere Feb. 23 and “Cowboy Sandbox,” a live immersive concert/art series, will return Feb. 24.

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. Bulk tickets/gift cards are available at $2 each when 10 or more tickets are purchased.

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 February schedule is:

-- Friday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m.: “Extreme Explorers.” Humans can't survive most environments on Earth without purpose-built clothing, shelter, and advanced food and water infrastructure. What about space? Probes, landers, rovers and other craft require incredible engineering to survive the extreme radiation, heat, cold, weather, chemistry and climates of deep space. Learn what it takes for robots and maybe people to endure in these places.

-- Saturday, Feb. 3, 2 p.m.: “Dawn of the Space Age,” a full-dome movie. The program explores the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, the magnificent lunar landings and privately operated space flights.

-- Saturday, Feb. 3, 7 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: EDM.” Enjoy a custom playlist of “out of this world” music from top artists in electronic dance music 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, Feb. 6, 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, Feb. 9, 7 p.m.: “Science of Sci-Fi: Wall-E.” This program will look at this family-friendly (G-rated) instant film classic from 2008 for insights, laughs and fun.

-- Saturday, Feb. 10, 2 p.m.: “Forward! To the Moon,” a full-dome movie. Narrator Kari Byron, from “Crash Test World” and “MythBusters,” takes viewers on a journey beyond Earth toward a sustainable future in space. NASA’s 21st century Artemis program is the next step in the mission to explore the universe and land the first woman and person of color on the moon. This film is produced by Fiske Planetarium in collaboration with Tend Studio.

-- Saturday, Feb. 10, 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.

-- Wednesday, Feb. 14, 7 p.m.: “Hearts in the Sky.” This Valentine’s Day program will explore love. The night sky is rich in mythology relating the human condition to the stars. Hear the epic star myths of romance and betrayal, as well as the science about those far-away objects those myths describe.

-- Friday, Feb. 16, 7 p.m.: “Stellar Graveyard.” This program explores the science behind the formation of stars; the various forms they take; and the stellar graveyard, including white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes.

-- Saturday, Feb. 17, 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, Feb. 17, 7 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: K-Pop,” a music-based light show. Enjoy a custom playlist of “out-of-this-world” music from top artists from Korean pop 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, Feb. 20, 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, Feb. 23, 7 p.m.: “Earth At Night.” This program looks at Earth at night and reviews various ways in which it tells the story of human history.

-- Saturday, Feb. 24, 2 p.m.: “From Earth to the Universe,” a full-dome movie. This film takes the audience out to the colorful birthplaces and burial grounds of stars and still farther out beyond the Milky Way to the unimaginable immensity of myriad galaxies. 

-- Saturday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m.: “Cowboy Soundbox.” Enjoy live immersive and experimental full-dome visual and audio performances.

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