Emera Astronomy Center to reopen Sept. 1, host online event Aug. 21
Emera Astronomy Center will reopen Sept. 1 and regular public shows will resume Friday, Sept. 4.
“We Are Stars” will be September’s 7 p.m. Friday public program and “Magic Treehouse–Space Mission” will be the 2 p.m. Sunday family matinee, said director Shawn Laatsch.
Visitors and staff will be required to wear face coverings (over the nose and mouth) and disposable masks will be available for visitors.
Maximum capacity is 11 people inside the planetarium. Staff will usher visitors to assigned seats, which have been marked to ensure 6-foot social distancing.
Tickets must be reserved in advance through the website or by calling 207.581.1341. Onsite ticketing will not be available.
The building — including door handles, railings, seats, flat surfaces, and bathrooms — will be cleaned and sanitized prior to each program. Hand sanitizer will be located in several locations, including the check-in counter and building entrances.
Prior to the Sept. 1 opening, Emera Astronomy Center will offer the online event Secrets of the Universe at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, with University of California, Davis physicist Manuel Calderón de la Barca Sánchez.
In Geneva, Switzerland, the professor of physics collaborates with a thousand scientists from 100 countries on the largest and most complex machine that humans have ever built. The Large Hadron Collider has a circumference of nearly 17 miles and is buried as deep as 500 feet underground.
The scientists use the particle accelerator to try to get back to the beginning of time to unravel secrets of the universe. In the trailer for the event, Calderón de la Barca Sánchez says every shred of scientific wisdom throughout history has brought them to this moment.
To sign up for “Secrets of the Universe,” email your name and email address to Laatsch at planetarium@maine.edu.
Stay informed by following the center on Facebook and visiting the website.