Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Cejka Planetarium in John J. and Char Kopchick Hall will present three programs during the spring semester: “Back to Venus” on March 6, Telescope Display and Full Moon Star Party on April 12, and “Centennial of the Planetarium!” on May 7.
All three programs begin at 7:00 p.m. and are free and open to the community.
Venus is almost a twin of Earth in size and structure, but conditions there are very different. The March 6 program will discuss the questions that the new spacecraft exploring Venus will try to answer.
Instead of being inside the planetarium, the April 12 event will feature some of the telescopes used by the university, set up in Kopchick Hall. Weather permitting, there will be an observation of the moon and sky.
May 7 marks 100 years since the first planetarium opened to the public in Munich, Germany. The program on May 7 will review some of the things a planetarium can show, along with recent discoveries from the Webb Space Telescope and the Bennu asteroid sample return.
The shows are sponsored by the IUP Department of Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences and the IUP John J. and Char Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The shows are developed and presented by Ken Coles, planetarium director.
Weather permitting, after-the-show telescope observing of the night sky will be offered. Seating is limited; doors will open 15 minutes before each show. Groups that wish to attend are asked to call 724-357-2440 in advance of the shows.
The Cejka Planetarium, named in honor of the generosity of Tim and Debra Phillips Cejka, 1973 graduates of IUP, features a digital projector. It is located on the second floor of Kopchick Hall.