The Observatory-Planetarium Public Education Nights (OPEN) program begins with a public planetarium show most Fridays at 8:00 pm. The one hour, free public shows are presented at the planetarium located in room 234 of the Health & Natural Sciences Building and are scheduled for the following Fridays:

The doors are open for seating at 7:30 pm and the show begins promptly at 8:00 pm. No admittance after the show begins. Please turn off pagers and cell phones; also no flash photography during the show. 

Format

All shows are presented live.  (i.e.: We do not currently have the capabilities for completely recorded or automated shows.) Since the shows are live with opportunities for spontaneous interaction from the audience, no two shows are exactly the same.  However, most shows have the following format.  The show (especially school shows) may begin with one or two short themed presentations. The current possible short themes are "The Space Race", "How To See the Constellations", or "The Colors of Stars".  Then, we present a semi-automated introduction to the star talk featuring music, short videos, lighting transitions, and planetarium projector deployment.  The star talk under the simulated night sky of the planetarium usually features the current evening sky, but often includes information about the morning sky (before sunrise) as well.  The ending star talk sometimes transitions directly to the show's conclusion, but often we present a short video to conclude the show.  (See below.)  The public shows usually feature several short themed presentations that are integrated into an extended star talk.  These short "vignettes" about the night sky feature constellation figures, animations and other information graphically projected directly onto the planetarium star field.  The show typically ends with a musical conclusion featuring lighting transitions as the projector is stowed or a short astronomically or space related music video (especially school shows). The current possible music videos are "The Hubble Space Telescope's 15 Year Anniversary Music Video", "The Mars Exploration Rover Mission Overview", or "Back to the Moon Video Trailer".

What's Showing

 Our current OPEN show is titled:  The Secret Stars of Harry Potter.  The only academic course common to Muggle schools and Hogwarts is Astronomy!  Discover the secret connections between some of the characters in the Harry Potter series and the stars in the night sky.  (This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise.)  The OPEN show features the stars, constellations and other astronomical objects that are used as character names or even studied as homework at Hogwarts.    Many of these stars are visible in the Winter sky.  As the semester progresses, the show will include those constellations, planets and astronomical events that are visible at that time.  Occasionally, special presentations about current astronomical or space events may replace the current show.  Our school show also features seasonal constellations and begins with a short presentation entitled "A Trip to the Moon" and the "Space Race" video introduction.  Call the planetarium information line at 706-864-1471 for any special updates about the shows.  Please don't leave a message on the Planetarium line as it is intended only for special messages about upcoming shows or cancellations.

SPECIAL EVENT FOR SPRING 2011:

Currently no special events are scheduled for the fall semester.  If any new events are scheduled, they will be posted on the NGCSU On-line Events Calendar.

Observatory

Weather permitting, we invite visitors out to the North Georgia Astronomical Observatory (NGAO) for viewing through the 16" Boller & Chiven research grade telescope.  Click here for local maps to the Observatory and Planetarium. Directions will also be provided at the end of the Planetarium show.  Call the observatory information line at 706-864-8642 for daily opening status.  (Message is updated daily about 6 pm EST (or 8 pm EDT.)  Please don't leave a message on the Observatory line as it is intended only for opening status info. 

School and other group shows may be reserved this semester primarily on Thursdays between 10 am and 2 pm.  Unfortunately, due to the budget crunch, we now have a flat fee of $85 per 1-hr show for groups.   For more information about payment and reserving planetarium shows for school or other groups, e-mail Dr. Jones at jjones@northgeorgia.edu.