WSU Planetarium
The WSU Planetarium features a digital fulldome projection system. During a sky tour, audiences interact with the projected sky and the docent to learn about astronomy. The dome is a 24 foot diameter plastic-laminated glass-fiber dome installed in Sloan Hall in March, 1962. In 1968 the projector was upgraded to the Spitz A3-P. In 2014, an interim spheric mirror digital projection system was added, upgraded to 4k resolution in summer 2016. It is used for WSU astronomy classes, school groups, other groups, and evening public shows. If you have a group of twelve or more, you can arrange a free, one-hour sky tour during business hours. Contact Dr. Guy Worthey at gworthey(at)wsu.edu to arrange.
2023 Late Summer
$5 public shows
Sept 1 & 3: The Sun
Sept 8 & 10: The Dark Matter Mystery
Sept 15 & 17: Two Small Pieces of Glass
Sept 22 & 24: Forward to the Moon
We are gratified that our series of informative and entertaining shows for the general public have proven popular. From 2014 to 2016, we installed a spheric-mirror digital projection system to enable a whole new layer of flexibility in the star theater, including the capability to show fulldome movies. Our dome was painted a friendly gray color in 2019 to reduce light echoes and improve contrast.
Funds from ticket sales maintain and improve our surround sound and full dome visual systems and guarantee an offering of even more spectacular public events in the future. The WSU Foundation will be happy to assist you if you wish to accelerate the upgrades with a financial gift (donate to “astronomy development fund”).
Our offerings:
- Day time groups ($0)
- Evening public shows ($5)
- Corporate facility rental
Currently scheduled by gworthey(at)wsu.edu
September 2023 Shows
The Sun
Friday, September 1, 7:00 p.m.
&
Sunday, September 3, 5:00 p.m.
A docent-led tour of what to expect in September night skies, followed by a fulldome video presentation. Tonight’s movie is The Sun: Our Living Star, an exploration of the staggering powerhouse (named Sol) at the center of our solar system.
The Dark Matter Mystery
Friday, September 8, 7:00 p.m.
&
Sunday, September 10, 5:00 p.m.
A docent-led tour of what to expect in September night skies, followed by a fulldome video presentation. Tonight’s movie is The Dark Matter Mystery. Detected (so far) only by the influence of its gravity, dark matter is most likely an elementary particle not predicted by the standard model of particle physics.
Two Small Pieces of Glass
Friday, September 15, 7:00 p.m.
&
Sunday, September 17, 5:00 p.m.
A docent-led tour of what to expect in September night skies, followed by a fulldome video presentation. Tonight’s movie is Two Small Pieces of Glass, which traces the centuries of influence of Galileo’s invention of the astronomical telescope. It is hard to imagine a greater boost to human vision.
Forward to the Moon
Friday, September 22, 7:00 p.m.
&
Sunday, September 24, 5:00 p.m.
A docent-led tour of what to expect in September night skies, followed by a fulldome video presentation. Tonight’s movie is Forward to the Moon, a summary of NASA’s new Artemis mission. At mission’s end, a permanent base will be built on the moon.
October 2023 Shows
Seeing!
Friday, September 29, 7:00 p.m.
&
Sunday, October 1, 5:00 p.m.
A docent-led tour of October night skies and the Oct 14 annular eclipse of the sun, followed by a fulldome video presentation. Tonight’s movie is “Seeing!” narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Follow a photon from its origin in the far reaches of the universe to its detection by the human eye. As much about biology and biochemistry as it is about astronomy, this movie may just … wait for it … open your eyes.
The Audio Universe
Friday, October 6, 7:00 p.m.
&
Sunday, October 8, 5:00 p.m.
A docent-led tour of October night skies and the Oct 14 annular eclipse of the sun, followed by a fulldome video presentation. Tonight’s movie is The Audio Universe, a tour of the solar system using audio cues. The show is designed to accommodate the visually impaired.
From the Earth to the Universe
Friday, October 13, 7:00 p.m.
&
Sunday, October 15, 5:00 p.m.
A docent-guided tour of October night skies, including, for the 13th, a weather report and description of the 14th’s solar eclipse. The night sky tour will be followed by the fulldome presentation From Earth to the Universe, a 30-minute voyage through space and time.
Big Astronomy
Friday, October 20, 7:00 p.m.
&
Sunday, October 22, 5:00 p.m.
A docent-led tour of October night skies, followed by a fulldome video presentation. Tonight’s movie is Big Astronomy, a sampling of the telescopes of Chile and the scientific discoveries coming from these state-of-the-art facilities.
Directions
Directions from Stadium & Main: Turn up Stadium, immediate left at Nevada, immediate left at Washington, turn right on Spokane Street. Street spots and nearby parking lots are legal to park in after-hours. Otherwise, please arrange a temporary permit from parking.wsu.edu (the zone you want is called “green 3.”) The pedestrian bridge is the most convenient entry; come across the bridge, come in the building, then turn right. Twenty paces later, turn left and head down the hall to Sloan 231.
September 2022 shows
Tickets at the door are $5 (cash or check, no credit). Lap-sitting children (4 and under) are free with adult purchase. Masks are encouraged (it’s cozy in the planetarium) but not required. Seating is limited to 45 persons. Scroll down for detailed directions to the WSU Planetarium, 231 Sloan Hall.
Distant Worlds – Alien Life?
7:00 p.m., Friday, Sept 9
&
5:00 p.m. Sunday, Sept 11
A tour of September night skies, followed by the fulldome planetarium production “Distant Worlds – Alien Life?”
“Distant Worlds – Alien Life?” explores the possibility of life on other planets. It gives the limits of biology as we know it, then intersects those constraints with what we know about Milky Way exoplanets. Imaginative visualizations of possible life forms are animated in a fulldome experience.
“Distant Worlds – Alien Life?”, originally “Ferne Welten – fremdes Leben?”, is a joint production by the planetariums in Münster, Bochum, Kiel, Mannheim, Osnabrück und Wolfsburg, produced at LWL-Planetarium Münster.
Red Eye to the Stars
7:00 p.m., Friday, Sept 16
&
5:00 p.m., Sunday, Sept 18
A tour of September night skies, followed by the fulldome planetarium production “Red-Eye to the Stars.”
“Red-Eye to the Stars” is a fulldome exploration of NASA’s flying observatory SOFIA.
On a clear evening, a jumbo jet takes heading into the sunset on California’s Pacific coast. Once the Boeing 747SP has reached its cruising altitude in the stratosphere, a hatch in the back of the plane opens to reveal the view into the depths of space.
“SOFIA”, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy, gathers thermal radiation from distant celestial objects unobstructed by the water vapor in the Earth’s atmosphere. Among other things, it can be used to observe the nurseries of young stars in distant gas nebulae that remain hidden in the spectrum of visible light.
Join a film crew on a red-eye flight aboard the flying observatory SOFIA to unravel the mysteries of star birth from 50,000 feet above the sea.
October 2022 Shows
Einstein’s Gravity Playlist
Friday, Oct 7, 7 p.m.
&
Sunday, Oct 9, 5 p.m.
A tour of October night skies, followed by the fulldome movie “Einstein’s Gravity Playlist,” produced by Montana State University, all about gravitational waves and their exotic sources, such as inspiralling black holes.
Two Small Pieces of Glass
Friday, October 14, 7 p.m.
&
Sunday, October 16, 5 p.m.
A tour of October night skies, followed by “Two Small Pieces of Glass,” a celebration of the telescope and the amazing discoveries this invention has enabled.
Haunted Skies
Friday, October 21, 7 p.m.
&
Sunday, October 23, 5 p.m.
Haunted Skies is a star show, slide show, costume party, and humor-filled history lesson all in one. Test-drive your Halloween costume (for a prize!) and learn about the holiday’s origins and related astronomy.
Rock the Rocks
Friday, October 28, 7 p.m.
&
Sunday, October 30, 5 p.m.
The planets – set to music. Join us for a raucous and rocking musical tour of the solar system. We’ll crank up the volume and shake Sloan Hall on a trippin’ trip through outer space.
November 2022 shows
The Dark Matter Mystery
7:00 p.m., Friday, November 4
&
5:00 p.m. Sunday, November 6
Our docent will give you a guided tour of November night skies, including what to expect for the 11/8 total lunar eclipse. This is followed by “The Dark Matter Mystery,” a fulldome production.
What keeps galaxies together? What are the building blocks of the Universe? What makes the Universe look the way it looks today? Researchers all around the world try to answer these questions. We know today that approximately a quarter of the Universe is filled with a mysterious glue: dark matter. We know that it is out there. But we have no idea what it is made out of.
This planetarium show takes you on the biggest quest of contemporary astrophysics. You will see why we know that dark matter exists, and how this search is one of the most challenging and exciting searches science has to offer. Join the scientists on their hunt for dark matter with experiments in space and deep underground. Will they be able to solve the dark matter mystery?
From Earth to the Universe
7:00 p.m., Friday, November 11
&
5:00 p.m. Sunday, November 13
Our docent will give you a guided tour of November night skies. This is followed by “From Earth to the Universe,” a fulldome production.
“From the Earth to the Universe” is a stunning 30-minute voyage through time and space that conveys, through an arresting combination of sights and sounds, the Universe revealed to us by science.
A production of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Supernova Planetarium and Visitor Center.
December 2022 shows
Out There
7:00 p.m., Friday, December 2
&
5:00 p.m. Sunday, December 4
A tour of December night skies, followed by the fulldome movie “Out There: The Quest for Extrasolar Worlds”
After millennia of dreaming about other planets, only in the last 30 years has astronomy confirmed that the Milky Way galaxy contains not just hundreds or thousands, but hundreds or thousands of millions of planets. And our Galaxy is one of hundreds of millions of galaxies in the observable universe.
It’s big out there, folks.
Distant Worlds – Alien Life?
7:00 p.m., Friday, December 9
&
5:00 p.m. Sunday, December 11
A tour of December night skies, followed by the fulldome planetarium production “Distant Worlds – Alien Life?”
“Distant Worlds – Alien Life?” explores the possibility of life on other planets. It gives the limits of biology as we know it, then intersects those constraints with what we know about Milky Way exoplanets. Imaginative visualizations of possible life forms are animated in a fulldome experience.
“Distant Worlds – Alien Life?”, originally “Ferne Welten – fremdes Leben?”, is a joint production by the planetariums in Münster, Bochum, Kiel, Mannheim, Osnabrück und Wolfsburg, produced at LWL-Planetarium Münster.
”Cycle” and ”The Incredible Sun”
Friday, December 16, 7 p.m.
&
Sunday, December 18, 5 p.m.
A tour of December skies, followed by two short fulldome movies. “Cycles” displays time-lapse fisheye lens imagery. To speed time up compared with human experience allows hard-to-notice natural cycles to become visible. “The Incredible Sun” is a mission-based movie that shows the sun at many wavelengths outside the range of human vision.