UW Planetarium Welcomes Campus Community Back With September Programs

With the fall semester underway, the University of Wyoming Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium has a full calendar of programs, films and Dome Club activities for the campus community and public to explore and enjoy.

“This month will be the first full month of planetarium shows except for during UW’s home football games,” says Max Gilbraith, the planetarium’s coordinator. “We are excited for everyone to enjoy the new projection system.”

Programs normally slotted Saturday, Sept. 7, 2 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m.; and Saturday, Sept. 28, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. will not be scheduled due to UW hosting home football games on those dates, Gilbraith says.

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 September schedule is:

-- Thursday, Sept. 5, 4-7 p.m.: Dome Club. Learn about immersive technologies for augmented reality, virtual reality, extended reality and full-dome development. All are welcome to bring their own projects and technologies to test and demonstrate. This activity takes place at the SciDIY Makerspace in the basement of the Physical Sciences Building. For more information, email Jane Crayton at jcrayton@uwyo.edu.

-- Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m.: “Apollo to Artemis.” See the history of lunar exploration, and learn about the newest efforts to get humanity back to the moon.

-- Saturday, Sept. 7, 7 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.

-- Tuesday, Sept. 10, 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.

-- Thursday, Sept. 12, 4-7 p.m.: Dome Club. Learn about immersive technologies for augmented reality, virtual reality, extended reality and full-dome development. All are welcome to bring their own projects and technologies to test and demonstrate. This activity takes place at the SciDIY Makerspace in the basement of the Physical Sciences Building. For more information, email Crayton at jcrayton@uwyo.edu.

-- Friday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m.: “Black Holes.” Are black holes nature’s mistake or portals to the unknown? Physics can lead to speculation about the nature of these bizarre structures, but astronomers are taking a closer look at these mysterious and fascinating objects.

-- Saturday, Sept. 14, 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.  

-- Thursday, Sept. 19, 4-7 p.m.: Dome Club. Learn about immersive technologies for augmented reality, virtual reality, extended reality and full-dome development. All are welcome to bring their own projects and technologies to test and demonstrate. This activity takes place at the SciDIY Makerspace in the basement of the Physical Sciences Building. For more information, email Crayton at jcrayton@uwyo.edu.

-- Friday, Sept. 20, 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, Sept. 21, 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, Sept. 21, 7 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: EDM,” a music-based light show. 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, Sept. 24, 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.

-- Thursday, Sept. 26, 4-7 p.m.: Dome Club. Learn about immersive technologies for augmented reality, virtual reality, extended reality and full-dome development. All are welcome to bring their own projects and technologies to test and demonstrate. This activity takes place at the SciDIY Makerspace in the basement of the Physical Sciences Building. For more information, email Crayton at jcrayton@uwyo.edu.

-- Friday, Sept. 27, 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.

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