Western Washington University   College of Sciences and Technology   Physics/Astronomy Dept.   Bellingham, WA USA
2008       2009 Calendar       2010
The International Year of Astronomy!
The 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of a telescope to study the sky.
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

Presentations can be arranged for groups such as; scouts, classes, dorms, clubs, office staff, birthday parties, etc.
(minimum of 20 people or payment of $60 please). We occasionally offer public "walk-in" shows, check the calendar for dates and times. The facility has very comfortable seating for 45 people plus room for about 10 more on the floor.

The planetarium is only open for specific presentations, or by appointment.
These are the available times for private engagements.       Mon-Thur 8:00AM - 9:00PM
      Fri 9:00AM - 4:00PM
      Sat 11:00AM - 4:00PM
      Sun 1:00PM - 9:00PM

To schedule a presentation for a group, choose an open date and available time on the calendar below, and then use this handy presentation request form or contact one of our current guides.

How Much Does it Cost?
Students $3.00 If possible please arrange to deliver a single check for your entire group. Make checks payable to Western Washington University. For programs scheduled as part of a WWU course curriculum there is no fee.
Non-Students $5.00
Following the presentation you will receive an invoice based on attendance.

Most planetarium presentations are strictly for people 8 years and older. However we do have programs designed especially for groups of younger children, such as preschool daycare field trips.


For more information about the schedule, please email.

Presentations in Cyan
Astronomy in Gray
History in Red
Information Links in Gold

Western Washington University Planetarium
JANUARY   2009
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
This is a good month to view the Pleiades star cluster in Taurus the Bull, also known as M45 or the Seven Sisters. The starlore associated with the Pleiades is extensive (example). The sword of Orion is just below the three stars of his famous belt, the is where we find the Orion Nebula. 1 2
Isaac Asimov born 1920
3
Quadrantid
Meteor Shower
4
Earth at perihelion
closest to Sun
0.983 AU
5

6 7 8 9 10
11 12

13 14 15
Stanwood Camano
10:00AM
16
17
18 19 20
Blaine Home
Connection
10:00AM 11:00AM
21 22 23


Pleiades
24
25
Kady's Birthday
2:00PM
26

    Annular
    Solar
    Eclipse
27
Apollo 1 fire, 1967
28
Space Shuttle Challenger lost, 1986
29 30
Whatcom
YMCA
1:30PM
31



Western Washington University Planetarium
FEBRUARY   2009
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
The Zodiacal light is a pyramid of very dim light that can be seen in the west after evening twilight and in the east after morning twilight. It is light scattered from the Sun by countless micro-meteoroidal particles along the plane of the solar system. Get away from the glow of city lights and study the western sky after sunset. (more)
1
2
Space Shuttle Columbia lost, 2003
3
WCC A100
WWU A103
6:30PM
4 5
Apollo 14 lands on the Moon 1971
6


Whirlpool Galaxy
7
Taylor's
Birthday
12:00PM
8
Pioneer Center North
10:00AM
9
Penumbral
Lunar

Eclipse
10
Loeffler
10:00AM
11 12
WCC A100
WWU A103
6:30PM
13
Planeteer
Training
12:00PM
14
15
WCC A100
WWU A103
6:30PM
Galileo Galilei
born 1564
16 17
Planeteer Training
11:00AM
18
Planeteer Demo
7:00PM
Chinese New Year
19
Nicholous Copernicus
born 1473
20
Hill Creek
1:00PM
John Glenn
orbits Earth 1962
21
EESP
Youth
3:30PM
22 23
Supernova
1987A Observed
24
WCC A100
WWU A103
6:30PM
25
26
27
28
Pioneer Center
North
6:00PM



Western Washington University Planetarium
MARCH   2009
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1
2 3 4 5
Physics Dept
Freshman
Seminar Series
7:00PM
6
7
Nooksack
Church Youth
8:00PM
8
Saturn at Opposition
Daylight Savings Time begins for most of America
9 10 11

12 13
The Willows
1:30PM
14
Odyssey of Science
10AM - 4PM
Albert Einstein
born 1879
15 16 17 18 19 20
Whatcom
Girl Scouts
6:30PM
Vernal Equinox
(seasons)
21
Open to Public
7:00PM
360.650.6146
for tickets
22 23


Sonlight Cadets
7:00PM
24


(Saturn)
25 26 27 28
29 30
31 March is the month of the "Messier Marathon" which is when amateur astronomers attempt to see as many of the M Objects in one night as they can. The Messier Catalog represents most of the real showpiece objects for small telescopes. Due to the position of the Sun it is theoretically possible to see all of them this month, especially around the night of the new moon when the sky is the darkest.



Western Washington University Planetarium
APRIL   2009
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
The occurence Aurora is very difficult to predict but it corresponds strongly to activity on the surface of the Sun, and the presence of charged particles in the solar wind.

photo by RL.Dietz.

1
2 3
4
5 6
WCC A100
WWU A103
6:30PM
7
Lakewood
Middle School
11:00AM 12:00PM 1:00PM
8 9

10
Edison
11:000AM

Apollo 13 launched, 1970
11
12 13 14
WCC A100
WWU A103
6:30PM
Shuttle lands for first time (Columbia) 1981
15
Ferndale
LDS
7:30PM
16
Wilbur Wright
born 1867
17
AWANA
7:00PM
18
19 20 21
Visions
1:00PM
22
WCC A100
WWU A103
6:30PM

Lyrid
Meteor Shower
23 24
Open to Public
7:00PM
360.650.6146
for tickets
25
Hubble Space Telescope launched, 1990
26
27 28
Mom's Club
10:00AM

McNutt
6:30PM
29
WWU A103
10:00AM
30
WCC A100
WWU A103
6:30PM
The Lyrid Meteor shower peaks on the 22nd at a rate of 20 per hour. Lyrid meteors radiate from a point in the sky near the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra.



Western Washington University Planetarium
MAY   2009
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
The eta Aquarids meteor shower peaks on May 5 but actully stretches from April 21 to May 12. It produces about 10 meteors per hour at the peak. The eta Aquarids are made by bits of dust and rock left behind by Halley's Comet, which last visited Earth in 1986 Best viewing is after midnight. Because Aquarius is low to the horizon from northern latitudes, many of these meteors will appear from the USA to be "Earthgrazers" which skim horizontally through the upper atmosphere. They are slow and dramatic, streaking far across the sky. 1
WWU A103
10:00AM
2
National Astronomy Day
3 4
WCC A100
6:30PM
5
Eta Aquarid
Meteor Shower
6

7 8

9
10
 
Apollo 10 launched 1969
11 12
Plemmons
WWU
1:00PM
13
Everson
LDS
7:00PM
14 15
WWU
Family Weekend
6:30PM & 8:30PM

tickets required
16
WWU
Family Weekend
1:30PM & 3:00PM

tickets required
17 18 19 20
WCC A100
6:30PM
21 22 23
24 25 26
Buchanan Towers
7:00PM
Skylab launched 1973
27


Trifid Nebula
28
WCC A100
6:30PM
29

30
31 The seasons on Earth are caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to its orbit around the Sun. The seasons are NOT caused by the differences in the DISTANCE from the Sun! In fact, the Earth is actually closer to the Sun in winter and farther away in summer. Here are the current constellations in which we find the Sun positioned at the four cardinal points of the ecliptic:
Vernal Equinox: Pisces     Summer Solstice: Taurus     Autumnal Equinox: Virgo     Winter Solstice: Sagittarius



Western Washington University Planetarium
JUNE   2009
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
The Earth moves slower in orbit in the summer than it does in the winter. (Analemma) 1 2
3 4
Sumas
Elementary
11:00AM
5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14
CCP Alumni
3:00PM
15 16
Valentina Tereshkova
First Woman in Space 1963
17
Friends of CST
Evening with
the Stars
6:30PM
18 19 20
Summer Solstice
Longest day of the year
(seasons)
21 22 23 24 25
26
Charles Messier
Born 1730
27
28 29
YMCA
Monroe 11:00AM
30
Meteor explodes over Tunguska Siberia, 1908 (meteors)
Look for the bright stars of the Summer Triangle high over head this month. It consists of the first three stars you can see as it begins to get dark after sunset. The brightest star is Vega, in the constellation of Lyra the harp. Then there is Deneb, the tail feathers of Cygnus the swan. Nearest the horizon is Altair in Aquila the eagle.



Western Washington University Planetarium
JULY   2009
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown is a semicircle of stars located between Hercules and Bootes, high in the summer sky. The crown represents the one that Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos of Crete, wore at her wedding. (constellations) 1       YMCA
Everett 10:00AM
Mukilteo 11:00AM
Galileo reports
Jupiter has moons
1610
2
YMCA
Everett 10:00AM
Marysville 1:00PM
3
4 Earth at aphelion
farthest from Sun 1.016 AU
Crab Nebula
Supernova 1054AD
5

6

7
Penumbral
Lunar

Eclipse
8
9
YMCA
Whatcom 10:30AM
10
Jupiter
11
12 13 14 15 16 Grandparents
University
5:45PM
Shoemaker-Levi
impacts Jupiter 1994
17

Bachelor Mt
Star Party

16th - 19th
18
19 20
Lynden
Boys & Girls
11:00AM
First humans
on Moon, 1969
21
Children of the Valley
10:00AM
22
Korean
Science Teachers
8:00PM
Eclipse
23
Whatcom
Boys & Girls
10:00AM
24
Table Mt
Star Party

23rd - 25th
25
Galileo views Saturn with a telescope, 1610
26
Apollo 15 launched, 1971
27 28 29
Max Higbee
Center
3:00PM
30
delta Aquarid
Meteor Shower
31 The crown was created by the supreme goldsmith, Hephaestus (greek myths).



Western Washington University Planetarium
AUGUST   2009
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
The Perseid Meteor Shower is a yearly favorite. It peaks on the 12th with a rate of 50 to 60 per hour. These meteors are actually debris left by comet Swift-Tuttle which takes approximately 130 years to orbit the Sun (comets). 1
2 3
GEAR UP
1:00PM
4
5

6
Penumbral
Lunar

Eclipse
7
The Cruise
Directors
10:00AM
8
9 10 11 12
Perseid
Meteor Shower
13
Western
Kids Camp
10:00AM
14
Jupiter
at Opposition
15

Mt Kobau
Star Party

15th - 23rd
16
17
Neptune
at Opposition
18 19
Orville Wright born, 1871
20
Oregon
Star Party

19th - 22nd
21 22
23 24
YMCA
Whatcom Preschool
10:30AM
25 26
YMCA
Whatcom 10:30AM
Stanwood
11:30AM
27
WWU Library Staff 1:00PM
28
Nakama
1:15PM
Fir Creek
2:00PM
29
30 31 Viewing the surface features of Jupiter depends greatly on seeing conditions. Usually a 6" or 8" diameter telescope with reveal the Great Red Spot, which is a giant cyclonic storm about three times the size of Earth. The lateral bands on the surface are alternately colored: The darker ones ranging from brick red to light peach and the ligher ones ranging from aqua to light grey. Sometime you will see a black dot slowly travelling across the surface of the planet; a shadow from an intervening moon.



Western Washington University Planetarium
SEPTEMBER   2009
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
The bright star Capella sparkles with colorful intensity when seen through dense air near the horizon. This month it rises at a sweeping angle which keeps it near the horizon longer. 1 2 3

4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17
Uranus
at Opposition
18
BHS
8:00AM
19
20
Ray and Ana
7:00PM
21 22
BHS
8:15AM & 1:00PM
Autumnal Equinox
23
Neptune discovered 1846
24 25 26
27 28 29 30 Another interesting autumn star is Mira, a variable star in the constellations of Cetus. At its brightest it is as bright as Polaris (the North Star). At its dimmest it is invisible to the naked eye. The whole cycle takes about 330 days. (constellations)



Western Washington University Planetarium
OCTOBER   2009
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Orionid Meteor Shower peaks on the 21st. Hourly rate reaches 20. It's created by debris along the orbital path of Halley's Comet. (comets)

Autumn is a good time to view M31, the Andromea Galaxy, which is 2.6 million lightyears away. and can be seen with the naked eye (galaxies).

1
WWU
Student
Tour Guides
7:00 PM
2 3
4
Sputnik, first human craft in space, launched from Russia 1957
5
ASA
2:30 PM
6
7 8 9
Draconid
Meteor Shower
10
WWU A103
WCC A100
4:00 PM
11 12 13
Conjunction of Venus and Saturn
1/2 degree apart
early morning
14
Chuck Yeager breaks sound barrier, 1947
15
WWU A103
WCC A100
7:00 PM
16


Andromeda Galaxy
17
Lukeris
Birthday
2:00PM
18 19
ASA
2:30 PM
20
A.L.L.
G. Nelson
1:00PM - 3:00PM
21

Orionid
Meteor Shower
22
Open to Public
6:30PM
360.650.6146
for tickets
23
WWU Family
Open House
7:00PM & 8:30PM
360.650.3846
for tickets
24
WWU Family
Open House
1:00PM & 2:30PM
360.650.3846
for tickets
25 26 27
Compass to Campus
10:30AM - 1:30PM
28 29 30 31
Vatican admits errors in trial of Galileo, 1992



Western Washington University Planetarium
NOVEMBER   2009
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
The Leonid Meteor Shower peaks on the 17th. The maximum hourly rate typically reaches 10 to 15. This shower is notable for greatly enhanced activity every 33 years which is known as a meteor storm. In 1833 an estimated 240,000 meteors were visible in about 9 hours. The showering of gravel entering our atmosphere during the Leonid shower is caused by a river of debris left in space by the passing of comet Tempel-Tuttle. (comets)
1
Daylight Savings Time Ends
time of day
2
First dog in space, 1957
3
4
WWU Alumni
7:00PM
5 6 7
8
9
Taurid
Meteor Shower
10
WWU A103
WCC A100
7:00 PM
11
Tycho Brahe
observes supernova in Cassiopeia, 1572
12
Red Hat Society
1:00PM
13 14
WWU Youth
Programs
2:30 PM
Apollo 12 launched, 1969
15
WWU A103
WCC A100
7:00 PM
16
First message sent to M13 by Arecibo radioscope, 1974
17

Leonid
Meteor Shower
18
Whatcom
Homeschool
Assoc.
2:00 PM
19 20

Edwin Hubble
born, 1889
21
22
Open to Public
6:30PM
360.650.6146
for tickets
23 24 25
Andromedid
Meteor Shower
26 27 28
29 30
The Big Dipper scrapes along near the ground in the north this month. Different cultures have different names for this famous group of stars. In the United States it is called the Big Dipper but in England people call it The Plow. In China they call it The Wagon. Celtic people like the Irish, Welsh, and Scottish also call it The Wagon. The American Indian tribes each had their own name for it. (American Indian Sky)



Western Washington University Planetarium
DECEMBER   2009
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Orion the Hunter takes center stage and dominates this month with the three stars in his famous belt and the red giant star Betelguese marking his shoulder. 1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8
Samish Woods
Montessori
1:00 PM
9 10 11
Whatcom Hills
Waldorf
10:00 AM
12


Mars
13
Geminid
Meteor Shower
14 15 16 17
First sustained powered flight at Kitty Hawk, NC, 1903
18 19
20
Cub Scout
Merit Badge
1:00 PM
21
Winter Solstice
The shortest day of the year

(seasons)
22
Open to Public
6:30PM
360.650.6146
for tickets

Ursid Meteors
23 24
Apollo 8 sends message from lunar orbit, 1968
25
Isaac Newton
born 1642
26
27
Johannes Kepler
born 1571
28 29 30

31 The second full moon in the same calendar month is sometimes called a "Blue Moon." On average there are 41 calendar months in every century with a Blue Moon.

2008       2010