UW Planetarium Premieres New Film ‘Always Above’ During June

“Always Above,” a new full-dome movie, will be shown twice -- as part of a Saturday afternoon double feature -- during June at the University of Wyoming Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium.

“We are getting a new short film that we will be playing as a double feature twice this month,” Max Gilbraith, the planetarium’s coordinator, says of the 12-minute film. “‘Always Above’ explores how close space is to our daily lives and the role that the U.S. Space Force plays in launching, operating and defending these assets (satellites).”

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 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 June schedule is:

-- Friday, June 6, 7 p.m.: “Search for Extraterrestrial Life.” Astronomers use telescopes from ground and space to locate signs of life on other planets. Landers, rovers and probes visit the scattered planets and moons of our solar system to hunt for extraterrestrials.

-- Friday, June 6, 8:30 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: Stoner Space Rock,” a music-based light show. Enjoy a custom playlist of “out-of-this-world” music from 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.

-- Saturday, June 7, 2 p.m.: “From Earth to the Universe” and “Always Above,” a full-dome movie double feature. “From Earth to the Universe” 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.

“Always Above” looks at how much our modern way of life depends on the thousands of satellites that fly around our planet. Orbiting the Earth are satellites that allow us to communicate with each other, monitor the weather, help us get to where we’re going and keep our country safe.

-- Saturday, June 7, 7 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, June 7, 8:30 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: Modern Funk,” a music-based light show. Enjoy a custom playlist of “out-of-this-world” modern funk music from 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, June 10, 7 p.m.: “Wyoming Skies.” This program provides an exploration of the stars, constellations, planets, meteor showers and other celestial phenomena visible from Wyoming for the season. After the planetarium show finishes at 8 p.m., informal telescope observing on the rooftop of the Physical Sciences Building at the STAR Observatory will be available, weather permitting.

-- Friday, June 13, 7 p.m.: “Mars.” The red planet is host to many questions. Did it 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 for decades and provide more clues every day.

-- Friday, June 13, 8:30 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: Synthwave,” a music-based light show. Enjoy a custom playlist of “out-of-this-world” synth music in 5.1 surround sound. The 4K resolution planetarium sky melts and becomes a canvas of color, patterns and movement with cutting-edge music visualization software and live VJ talent.

-- Saturday, June 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. 

-- Saturday, June 14, 7 p.m.: “Big Astronomy: People, Places, Discoveries,” a full-dome movie. The film takes a journey to three world-class observatories in Chile’s rugged Andes Mountains and arid Atacama Desert -- remote, extreme regions that have the perfect conditions for astronomical research. Featured is an inspiring cast of astronomers, engineers, technicians and support staff who keep the megamachines running.

-- Saturday, June 14, 8:30 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: Women Who Rock,” a music-based light show. Enjoy a custom playlist of “out-of-this-world” female rock music from top female artists in 5.1 surround sound. The 4K resolution planetarium sky melts and becomes a canvas of color, patterns and movement with cutting-edge music visualization software and live VJ talent.

-- Friday, June 20, 7 p.m.: “Keeping Time.” In our modern world, cellphones and computers are sent radio messages from atomic clocks to maintain time, but this was not always the case. Our ancestors were able to predict eclipses, the seasons and the motion of the planets with primitive instruments and observations long before the invention of mechanical clocks, telescopes or other modern tools. Learn how the stars, planets and sun all served to calibrate the clocks of ancient peoples through to today.

-- Friday, June 20, 8:30 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: Pop!,” a music-based light show. Enjoy a custom playlist of “out-of-this-world” music from top pop musical artists in 5.1 surround sound. The 4K resolution planetarium sky melts and becomes a canvas of color, patterns and movement with cutting-edge music visualization software and live VJ talent.

-- Saturday, June 21, 2 p.m.: “Back to the Moon for Good” and “Always Above,” a full-dome movie double feature. “Back to the Moon for Good” opens with the first era of space exploration in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Viewers will learn what that era of landers and orbiters taught the world about the moon.

“Always Above” looks at how much our modern way of life depends on the thousands of satellites that fly around our planet. Orbiting the Earth are satellites that allow us to communicate with each other, monitor the weather, help us get to where we’re going and keep our country safe.

-- Saturday, June 21, 7 p.m.: “One Sky,” a full-dome series of short films. Each short film represents the perspective of a different culture or Indigenous society from around the globe. Each film stands alone as a short story, or in combination, as a longer narrative organized around themes of “finding patterns” and developing tools. Short films are “The Forge of Artemis,” “Thunderbird,” “Jai Singh’s Dream,” “Celestial Canoe,” “The Samurai and Stars” and “Wayfinders.”

-- Saturday, June 21, 8:30 p.m.: “Liquid Sky: Psychedelic Indie,” a music-based light show. Enjoy a custom playlist of “out-of-this-world” psychedelic indie music from top artists in 5.1 surround sound. The 4K resolution planetarium sky melts and becomes a canvas of color, patterns and movement with cutting-edge music visualization software and live VJ talent.

-- Tuesday, June 24: The planetarium is closed for a private event.

-- Friday, June 27-Monday, July 7: The planetarium will be closed for mid-summer break.

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