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
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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
Western Washington University Planetarium
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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
|
22Open 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
|
|
|
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)
|
22Open 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.
|
|
