UW Planetarium to Celebrate America 250 With Program About NASA’s Pioneering Space Efforts

The University of Wyoming Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium will celebrate America 250 with a look back at NASA's early pioneering efforts to explore space.

"Celebrate 250 years of independence with a retrospective on the U.S.'s pioneering efforts in the final frontier -- space," says Max Gilbraith, the planetarium's director. "We'll revisit the triumphs and challenges from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Shuttle and Artemis missions, and other past and upcoming programs at NASA."

The summer format includes a planetarium film followed by a "star talk." Star talks consist of a brief follow-up of concepts from the film; a mini "Wyoming Skies" program; a question-and-answer session; and requests from the audience.

"We have had a wonderful response to our weekday programming and look forward to having many more visitors join us to take a break from the beautiful Wyoming afternoon heat and come to the spectacular and cool planetarium for our films and star talk series," Gilbraith says. "We've made some upgrades on our ticketing website so anyone using a uwyo.edu email address for their tickets can get the $2 ticket discount. Otherwise, general tickets are $5. We have cash discounts for kids, students, seniors, first responders and the military."

To get tickets or receive more information about programs, email [email protected] or leave a voicemail and a callback phone number at (307) 766-6506. Tickets are $5 for the public or online tickets, and $3 for students, senior citizens, veterans, first responders and those under 18. Seating is free for children under 5. Bulk tickets/gift cards are available at $2 each when 10 or more tickets are purchased.

Reservations or pre-purchase is not required, and walk-ins are welcome. Tickets can be purchased online with a credit card, reserved by email or voicemail, or purchased at the start of the show. Cash or check is accepted at the door. The planetarium, which seats 64, is in the basement of the Physical Sciences Building. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis outside of designated ADA/wheelchair seating.

To pay for tickets with a credit card, go to https://www.uwyo.edu/uwplanetarium/ticket.aspx. For a group larger than six, email the planetarium for a private show at https://uwyo.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bKuqIynOn7gFK2F. Tickets for private shows are the same as the public programs.

A film and special live talk for audiences will be featured each week. All programs are approximately an hour in length. As time allows, a portion of the show also may focus on a live sky tour or supporting information related to the film's topic.

The July schedule is:

-- Thursday, July 2, 1 p.m.: "America 250 - USA in Space." Celebrate 250 years of independence with a retrospective on the U.S.'s pioneering efforts in the final frontier -- space. This program will revisit the triumphs and challenges from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Shuttle and Artemis missions, and other past and upcoming programs at NASA.

-- Monday, July 6, 8:30-10:30 p.m.: "Observing Night at North Crow Reservoir." The UW Planetarium hosts a night-sky star party overlooking North Crow Reservoir, located 24 miles east of Laramie. The event will include using lasers to draw the summer constellations; telescopes for observing; and astro-photography to reveal deep-sky objects. Attendees are asked to bring a flashlight/headlamp with a red light setting, if possible; bug spray; appropriate clothing layers for an evening program; and a camping chair. The event is free, and no reservations are needed.

-- Tuesday, July 7, 1 p.m.: "Two Small Pieces of Glass: The Amazing Telescope," a full-dome movie, and a star talk. Attendees will learn about the history of the telescope, from Galileo's modifications to a child's spyglass -- using two small pieces of glass -- to the launch of the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope and the future of astronomy.

-- Thursday, July 9, 1 p.m.: "Big Astronomy: People, Places, Discoveries," a full-dome movie, and a star talk. The film takes a journey to three world-class observatories in Chile's rugged Andes Mountains and arid Atacama Desert -- remote, extreme regions that have the perfect conditions for astronomical research. Featured is an inspiring cast of astronomers, engineers, technicians and support staff who keep the megamachines running.

-- Saturday, July 11, through Saturday, July 18: The planetarium will be closed during Astro Camp.

-- Tuesday, July 21, 1 p.m.: "5,000 Eyes: Mapping the Universe with DESI," a full-dome movie, and a star talk. The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is creating the most detailed map of our nearby universe. Installed on the Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in southern Arizona, DESI's 5,000 independently operated robots can measure the light from thousands of galaxies at once. Explore the science, instrument and people behind this global endeavor.

-- Thursday, July 23, 1 p.m.: "Cosmic Mashups: Gravity, Galaxies and Supermassive Black Holes," a full-dome movie, and a star talk. Supermassive black holes are found in most galaxies, and scientists are beginning to uncover how the merging of galaxies activates galactic centers. This film is produced by Fiske Planetarium, a University of Colorado-Boulder professor and a former graduate student through a National Science Foundation grant.

-- Tuesday, July 28, 1 p.m.: "The Hot and Energetic Universe," a full-dome movie, and a star talk. The film investigates the achievements of modern astronomy; the most advanced terrestrial and orbital observatories; the basic principles of electromagnetic radiation; and the natural phenomena related to high-energy astrophysics.

-- Tuesday, July 28, 7 p.m.: "Seeing!," a full-dome movie, and a star talk. The film follows the journey of a single photon as it is produced in a distant star, before traveling across the vast expanse of space to land on someone's retina. This film is narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

-- Thursday, July 30, 1 p.m.: "Back to the Moon for Good," a full-dome series of short films, and a star talk. This film opens with the first era of space exploration in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Viewers will learn about what that era of landers and orbiters taught the world about the moon.

For more detailed descriptions of all programs, go to https://www.uwyo.edu/physics/planetarium/schedule.html.