Join guest instructor Trevor Chandler inside his portable planetarium for this amazing program. Families are welcome and encouraged to attend! This planetarium series highlights the night sky as it is appears that evening. The presentations will change from month to month and season to season as our planet “goes through the motions”. We’ll look at what constellations and objects are visible at a given time of year, but we’ll also spend some time getting to know a selected region of the sky in greater detail. At least one constellation will be selected each month, highlighting its mythology and brighter stars including their names, lore and meaning. Then we’ll take a look at a few of the astronomical objects located within the boundaries of the featured constellation. If weather conditions permit, participants may be invited outside under the stars to see the real deal through a telescope.

Our featured Constellation for July is Hercules, the champion. Hercules is prominently positioned in the mid-summer sky. This region of the sky also happens to be the direction toward which our solar system is heading as makes its long circuit around the center of the Milky Way, once every 250 million years or so. Although it is the fifth largest of the 88 constellations, Hercules does not contain many bright stars. It does, however, abound with objects that are visible even with a small telescope. Perhaps its most beautiful feature is the Great Hercules Star Cluster, a swarm of about one million bluish suns.

Guest Instructor: Trevor Chandler

Registration

Registration Fee: $15 per person PLUS a $10 fee per transaction (you can register multiple people per transaction and multiple Planetarium programs per transaction).

Note: If we don’t have enough registrations by July 8, the program may be cancelled. Maximum 25 people per session.

ALL REGISTRANTS UNDER THE AGE OF 16 MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT. If the course is full when you try to register, please add your name to the Wait List as we may provide an additional time slot.

Watch a video about our Planetarium Workshop.