| PAST |
Public Planetarium
Programs
for 2003-2004 academic year
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Tuesday, 8 June 2004 at
6:00AM
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Transit of Venus across the Disk of the Sun; no person alive today has seen the Transit of Venus that last occurred on 6th of December 1882. There have been only 5 previous transit observed by humans, since the first in 1639. If it is clear we will observe it from sunrise around 6:00AM until it ends around 7:26AM in the morning from the roof of the Parking Garage at Fenton and King Street. If it is hopelessly cloudy and predicted to continue that way well past the event then we will have a show on the first floor of the Parking Garage where a wireless Internet connection has been set up to watching web cams of this event some where, where it is not cloudy. The direct view is best, but either way we will see the event as it happens, come join us. |
| Monday,
10 - Friday 14 May 2004 at 9:00PM |
See Comet
Neat Q4 2001 every day for a week as it rises higher in the sky on
the roof of the Parking Garage at Fenton and King Street. |
|
Saturday,
8 May 2004 at
7:00 P.M.
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The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence |
|
Saturday,
17 April 2004 at
7:00 P.M.
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Space-time Invariance and Quantum Gravity what significance does using Discrete Numbers (there is a smallest or shortest quantity) versus Real Numbers (where there is no smallest or shortest quantity) to measure length and time have in the observable universe. Is it time to abandon the Real Numbers in describing space-time? What are the physical consequences to our freedom to move forward and backward in space, but only forward in time? |
| Saturday, 20 March 2004 at 7:00 P.M. | The Rites of Spring, the Vernal Equinox the vernal equinox is 6:49UT on March 20, 2004 which is 1:49AM EST on March 20=UT-5hours+0hours for not being on daylight saving time. |
| Saturday, 14 February 2004 at 7:00 P.M. | African Skies |
| Saturday, 24 January 2004 at 7:00 P.M. | How are Stars Born? |
| Monday, 22 December 2003 at 7:00 P.M. | The Day of the Sun's Return, the Winter Solstice the winter solstice is at 7:04 UT December 22 which is 2:04AM (EST=Eastern Standard time) = UT-5hours+0hours for not being on daylight saving time. |
| Saturday, 15 November 2003 at 7:00 P.M. | Astrolabes |
| Saturday, 8 November 2003 at 6:30 P.M. | Moon viewing during a LUNAR ECLIPSE
with
a last gasp opportunity to see MARS on the roof of the Parking Garage
at
Fenton and King Street or a program about "The REAL OCCULT: Lunar & Solar
Eclipses
and Asteroid & Stellar Disappearances Sometimes Involving Luna"
in
the planetarium if it is cloudy. An early evening lunar eclipse
where
the shadow of the earth occults the full moon, you can see this at
home,
but there will be a telescope on the roof to view the moon if it is
clear.
It was clear until 8:30PM so we saw the lunar eclipse from the Parking
Garage
on King and Fenton Street. |
| Saturday, 18 October 2003 at 7:00 P.M. | Polarization Sundials, learn about a type of sundial that will work when the sun is covered by a cloud and there is no shadow for a sundial gnome or an hour before the sun has risen or an hour after the sun has set as long as there is a patch of blue sky in the north. White clouds depolarize sunlight and hide the information about where the sun is that is encoded in the polarization pattern of the blue sky! |
| Tuesday, 23 September 2003 at 7:00 P.M. | When
the Sky Falls the autumnal equinox is at 10:46
(UT=Universal
Time) on this date which is 6:46AM (EDT=Easten Day Light Saving Time) =
UT-5hour
+1hour for daylight savings time. |
|
Monday, August 25, 2003 at 9:00P.M.
through
Friday, August 29, 2003 at 9:00P.M. |
Mars
viewing on the roof of the College Parking Garage at Fenton and King
Street
at 9 P.M., or a program
about Mars in the planetarium if it is cloudy. On
Wednesday,
August 27, at 9:51 UT = 5:51 A.M. EDT, Mars is as close to earth
(55,758,006
km or 3.1 light minutes) as it has been since 57,617 BC, when Mars was
a
little closer (of course don't expect the view to be much better than
it
is ordinarily every 15 to 17 years). Mars will be 25.1 arc
seconds
in diameter on all five opportunities to see it through a telescope on
the roof
of the College Parking Garage. At 9 P.M. Mars will be too
low
in the sky to see from outside the planetarium, but it will be visible
from
the roof of the Parking Garage a little south of east as it rises
higher. Fortunately the clouds parted and we were able to see
Mars 4 out
of 5 times. Only Wednesday did we have to have a show about Mars
instead
of actually seeing Mars. While my house a block away had no
power
for 4 of these days the College had electrical power the entire time.
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