Planetarium Feature Shows and Guest Lectures are presented at 8 p.m. on Fridays when the Night Sky Show is scheduled. For further information, please call (310) 434-4223. Admission is $6 ($5 seniors age 60+ and children age 12 and under).
Special Observing Event: The Plane of the Solar System and the Rings of Saturn
On April 27th, the evening sky will have quite a nice display of several members of our solar system, stretching in a ragged procession from Venus setting into evening twilight, past a 6 day old waxing crescent Moon, tiny but reddish Mars, and creamy yellowish Saturn, nicely placed for viewing just past opposition. While the orbits of these close celestial neighbors are not actually in the same precise plane, they are within a few degrees of being so, and stepping outside this night will be a nice way to visualize the geometry of the Solar System. Weather permitting, we will begin in the planetarium, then take that stroll and observe several of these targets through multiple telescopes with assistance from local amateur astronomers. If clouds intervene, we’ll view high-resolution images of them inside the planetarium. DRESS WARMLY!
April 27th
Summer Star Party Planner
Gatherings of amateur astronomers to observe the evening sky are called “star parties”, and summertime presents good opportunities for beginners to attend these events without having to deal with winter’s cold and travel hazards. From local urban and suburban locations to high, dark mountains and deserts, we’ll clue you in on where and when to go and what to bring to be a welcome star party visitor and participant.
May 11th (Cancelled)
No Programs May 18th or May 25th
The June 2012 Transit of Venus
A transit of Venus, when the planet appears in front of the Sun for observers on Earth, is a very rare event. Before the transit of June 8, 2004, no living human had witnessed one of these events, and after June 5, 2012, it will be 105 years before another. The 2004 event was not seen well from the US, but this year’s event will begin at about 3:00 pm Pacific daylight time with the Sun well up in the west-southwest. If weather is clear, local observers with safe solar telescopes can see roughly two-thirds of the 6.5 hour event before the Sun sets around 8:00 pm. We’ll discuss the significance of Venus transits in science history (A transit observing opportunity was a primary impetus for the first South Seas voyage of James Cook in the late 1700s!), and get the lowdown on places to safely view the transit from Southern California. June 1st
Summer Deep Sky Wonders
The summer sky offers numerous gems to the observer, many of them far beyond our solar system – the realm of “Deep Sky Objects”, or DSOs. The wonders of the summer sky show us star birth and death, the raw material of planetary formation, mature stars in tight spheres of a million or more and younger stars in looser associations, and literally countless distant galaxies, each with billions of suns. We’ll look at beautiful images of some of the finest deep sky objects and discuss what they seem to be telling us about our universe. Tips for where to go to view these beauties for your self will round out the program. June 8th
No programs June 15th or 22nd
Special Observing Event: Saturn and the Moon
Our popular observing events will tempt the gods of June gloom and attempt a look at the great ringed gas giant Saturn and the waxing gibbous Moon. We’ll begin in the planetarium with a short primer on what to look for in the eyepiece, then head outside to observe through an array of telescopes, with guidance from local amateur astronomers. If clouds intervene, we’ll enjoy high resolution images of Saturn and the Moon inside. DRESS WARMLY!
June 29th
Dawn at Vesta
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft reached orbit around the large main belt asteroid Vesta on July 15th of last year. Now Dawn is wrapping up the mission to Vesta and preparing to depart in late July for the next destination: the largest object in the asteroid belt, dwarf planet Ceres. We’ll view images from the lowest-altitude orbits around Vesta and update the science results from Dawn, and discuss the asteroid belt in general, and why learning as much as possible about the objects in the belt may be a key to our long-term survival on Earth!
July 6th and July 13th
Curiosity: Mars Science Lab Preview
On the evening of August 5th, if all goes well, the Mars Science Laboratory Rover, Curiosity, will touch down in Gale crater on the surface of Mars after a nine month journey. We will preview this latest effort to improve our understanding of the Red Planet and the possible existence of biochemical processes there.
July 20th and 27th
Neptune at Opposition: The Outer Darkness
On August 24th, the Earth will be at opposition with the planet Neptune. While opposition is normally a fine time to observe another planet, Neptune is never a particularly bright or easy target as planets go – but as the outermost major planet Neptune is intensely interesting and the gateway to the vast outer solar system regions of the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud. We’ll view the best available images from this enigmatic region of our solar system and discuss missions like New Horizons which are expected to tell us more about it.
August 3rd and 10th
No programs August 17th, 24th, or 31st