Indiana University of Pennsylvania will continue the 2022–23 planetarium shows during the spring semester with “Winter Wonders” on February 28.
The show will be offered at 7:00 p.m. in the IUP planetarium, located on the east side of Weyandt Hall (the side away from the Oak Grove).
The program, exploring the winter constellations of Orion and Taurus, also will include information about the Orion nebula and the fact that a supernova remnant is up in the sky every winter evening.
The planetarium shows are presented by Ken Coles, geoscience faculty member and planetarium director.
“The winter constellations Orion and Taurus contain marvelous objects that are favorites for small telescopes and binoculars,” Coles said. “I encourage everyone to come to this free program to hear what we can learn from these objects and others in the current night sky.”
The final presentation for the academic year is “Sampling an Asteroid” on March 29 at 7:00 p.m.
A recent NASA mission grabbed a sample of an asteroid left over from the beginning of the solar system. This program will explore how this was done remotely and discuss what we can learn from the sample when it arrives at Earth in September.
Doors open 15 minutes before each show, which run around 40 minutes long. Seating is limited and is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Individual reservations cannot be accepted, but persons wishing to bring groups of 10 or more should call 724-357-5626 or 724-357-2379 in advance.
The planetarium series is sponsored by the IUP Department of Geography, Geology, Environment, and Planning and the John J. and Char Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
Weather permitting, after the show telescope observing of the night sky will be held.