UMaine Jordan Planetarium Planning Special Vacation Week Star Shows
Contact: Alan Davenport, 581-1341
ORONO — It’s spring cleaning time and UMaine’s Maynard F. Jordan Planetarium is polishing up its stars for special duty this school vacation week, April 20-26. Children, friends and family can see a variety of star shows for young and old that will take them on adventures into the cosmos.
Every Saturday evening at 7 p.m., the Planetarium’s newest Omnidome program, “Black Holes,” uses computer animation to travel among the stars in search of these exotic engines of superpower. Planetarium Director Alan Davenport says young skywatchers will thrill to the adventure of a teddy bear in a “Wilbear’s Adventure” Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m.
Special morning and matinee showings added for vacation school week will explore all kinds of space subjects: Monday at 11 a.m., “Earth’s Wild Ride” watches the Earth undergo some of its most exciting events during an eclipse that can be seen from a futuristic moon colony. Tuesday at 2 p.m., “Destination Pluto” takes a trip all the way to the edge of the solar system with close-up looks at each planet. Wednesday at 11 a.m., “Our Sky Family” gives youngsters a very friendly introduction to the planetarium and several very talkative planets that tell us about themselves. Thursday at 2 p.m., “Hubble Vision” looks at some of the most beautiful and exciting subjects in deep space through the lens of the lens of the Hubble Space Telescope. And Friday has two features with a solar system trip called “Worlds of Wonder” at 11 a.m., and a close-up look at a system of rings, moons and the giant planet called Saturn in “Ring World” at 7 p.m.
The vacation week line-up brings space down to earth for young, old and in-between in the star theater on the Orono campus. Tickets for planetarium programs are $3 per person at the door, and can be reserved in advance by calling the Jordan Planetarium. For more information including the age appeal for each show, visit the Jordan Planetarium website at www.GalaxyMaine.com or call 581-1341.
In addition to star theater programs that travel into space no matter what the weather, skywatchers of all ages can enjoy looking through a real telescope on clear Friday or Saturday evenings from 8-10 p.m. Those evenings, the Jordan Observatory beside the Memorial Student Union on the Orono campus is open and free to see with volunteers ready to welcome visitors and explain what the Alvan Clark refractor telescope is showing.
Saturn is high in the spring sky this year, and is just one of the many targets that include the moon, gas clouds, giant star clusters and more. Telescopes can collect enough light to see the faintest, farthest objects in space, but they are limited by their environment, so weather is a factor when planning observations. In order to make certain the observatory will be open, visitors should call ahead to the observatory information line, 581-1348, after 7 p.m. Visitors also should plan to dress for cold weather, as the observatory is unheated.