Clemson University will once again open its doors for an out of this world experience. The university has its very own planetarium and will once again be offering free show to the public during the spring semester. There will be seven shows, with five show topics starting at 6:00 p.m. and lasting for about 45 minutes. The shows will be located in Kinard Hall, room 112 with 38 seats available.
All the public shows will start off with a tour of the night sky on the show date. The moon and other planets will be highlighted if visible, along with constellations. There will also be ways to find the North Pole Star. The show topic will begin after the night sky introduction. Topics to be presented include Dark Matter on Jan. 27 and April 21, Exoplanets on Feb. 10, Earth to the Universe on Feb. 24 and May 5, Our Sun on March 10 and Unveiling the Universe on April 21.
The Dark Matter show investigates the universe’s greatest mysteries and why scientiststheorize the dark matter explanation. There will be a tour of the beautiful and mysterious galaxies to find their motion and missing mass.
The Exoplanets show is a fun, lighthearted journey of two robots through the universe who get in trouble exploring exoplanets, which are planets that orbit a star other than the sun. The new worlds of the exoplanets will be explored through prior scientific knowledge ofspace travel and our solar system.
The Earth to the Universe show will cover a brief history of how astronomy changed our view of our place in the universe,from humanity first looking into the sky to using advanced technology to see the formation of the universe.
The Our Sun show highlights how important the star at the center of our universe is and how active it really is during the daytime sky.
The Unveiling the Universe show explores the different technologies scientists use to learn more about our universe. Humanity’s understanding and ability to view the universe has expanded quickly.
“I am very excited to bring this hidden gem of Clemson campus back to light and to be able to share the wonders of our world and universe with the public,” said David Connick, planetarium coordinator.
Currently, all the shows are full, but the planetarium is working to add more events for the public.