Until the last week in June, Zacheis planetarium will be offering free public programs every Friday afternoon and every other Tuesday evening. See the schedule on the Scheduled Public Programs page.
Zacheis planetarium will be closed from the last week of June until ASU classes start in August. During this time, the planetarium will be receiving an upgrade that will allow us to present dramatic Earth Science lessons using software called “The Layered Earth”. Stayed tuned for updates!
On Tuesday, May 7, Zacheis will be hosting a special program: “Creatures of the Night”. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and the San Luis Valley are home to some amazing nocturnal animals! Though seldom seen, eight species of owls, six species of bats, black bears, amphibians and more roam freely with starlight and moonlight as their guide within this national park. These special creatures are part of the reason why dark skies matter in this high mountain valley. Take a closer look at our nocturnal neighbors at a special presentation at Zacheis Planetarium with “Night Sky Ranger” Danielle York from Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.
The program will be given twice, at 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Tickets will be available at the planetarium when the doors open at 6:30. Admission is free and open to the general public, but tickets are required due to limited seating.
Come see the nightlife under the dome at Zacheis!
On Saturday, April 27, Zacheis planetarium will present two new full-dome movies. “Life: A Cosmic Story”, will be shown at 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. “Earthquake: Evidence of a Restless Planet” will be shown at 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. See the “Scheduled Public Programs” page for details.
Zacheis planetarium announces a new schedule of Free Friday Movies for the remainder of the spring semester. We have added several new movies to our library, and the new schedule will feature those new movies plus a few of the old favorites. Check out the “Scheduled Public Shows” page of the blog for the new schedule.
Zacheis planetarium will be showing its latest new fulldome movie “DARK” on Saturday, Feb. 16. Produced by iVEC on the University of Western Australia campus, DARK is a fulldome movie that explains and explores the nature of dark matter, the missing 80% of the mass of the Universe. The search for dark matter is the most pressing astrophysical problem of our time – the solution to which will help us understand why the Universe is as it is, where it came from, and how it has evolved over billions of years – the unimaginable depths of deep time, of which a human life is but a flickering instant. But in that instant, we can grasp its immensity and, through science, we can attempt to understand it.
DARK will be shown at 6:30, 7:15, and 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16. Each showing will be followed by a short star tour and then a quick sneak-peek at another new capability for Zacheis: a trip to the Sistine Chapel! Weather permitting, telescopes will be set up outside so visitors can view the Moon, Mercury, Jupiter, double stars, and more.
Admission is free but tickets are required due to limited seating. Tickets for all showings will be available at the planetarium when the doors open at 6:00 p.m.
The planetarium is also in the process of securing several other new fulldome movies. When that process is complete, showings of the new films will be scheduled and notice will be sent out to our email list. If you’re not already receiving our emails, drop me a note and I will add you: rjastalos@adams.edu.
See the “Scheduled Public Shows” page on the blog for the schedule of free Friday afternoon full-dome movies for Spring 2013. Show times each Friday are 3:45 and 4:30. Note that the schedule is likely to change after spring break as we are in the process of purchasing several new movies.
Zacheis planetarium announced its fall schedule of public shows. The list (which includes 25 movie showings!) can be found on the blog’s “Scheduled Public Shows” page.
The renovation of Zacheis planetarium is now complete! Here’s a photo of the new theater:
The new planetarium includes four rows of individual seating, with the new digital projector in the center of the room.
The public Grand Reopening is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Sept. 7 and 8. Details will be posted on the Scheduled Public Shows page soon.
… and the projection system is being installed. At this point it looks like the renovation will be completed just before school starts, in time for the first public shows on August 23, part of the ASU name change celebration. Here are some photos of the inside…
These photos show the new screen and carpet in Zacheis planetarium
The new screen is about half paneled now. Here are some photos of the planetarium theater from this afternoon:
Work is proceeding on the second row of screen panels (the bottom row was completed first)
There are 51 panels, and it takes about an hour to put up one panel. The screen should be finished and the planetarium cleaned up for carpeting by Friday afternoon.
