Morrison Planetarium

About the Dome The Morrison Planetarium is the largest all-digital dome in the world with a 75-foot diameter projection screen tilted at a 30 degree angle. Thanks to immersive video technology, the dome seems to disappear when imagery is projected onto it, creating an experience more like flying than watching a movie. The planetarium relies on scientific data to depict current discoveries with unprecedented accuracy. It also has the flexibility to present a wide variety of programming that is both educational and entertaining. Traditional star shows will be supplemented by live “tours of the Universe,” and programming will include live NASA feeds as well as broadcasts from Academy scientists in the field.

Planetarium Shows EARTHQUAKE: EVIDENCE OF A RESTLESS PLANET A sweeping geological journey, Earthquake explores the forces that transform the surface of our planet. After a stunning flight over the San Andreas Fault, audiences travel back in time to experience San Francisco’s infamous 1906 earthquake. Data-driven visualizations illustrate Earth’s story, revealing how subtle motions and sudden ruptures have shaped our planet over eons—and how geological activity influences the course of human history. Finally, see how scientists and engineers help society prepare for a safer future. View showtimes Credits [4kb]

FRAGILE PLANET Fragile Planet gives audiences an astronaut’s view of Earth, highlighting Earth’s unique regions. The journey then continues to the Moon, Mars, and beyond the Milky Way to search for habitats that might host extraterrestrial life. The show’s theme—that Earth is the only known haven for life, and thus is important to protect—echoes the themes of biodiversity and sustainability. The visual foundation of the show lies in scientific visualization. From the high-resolution satellite imagery of Earth, the positions of galaxies more than 50 million light years distant, the three-dimensional terrain of Valles Marineris on Mars to the locations of extrasolar planetary systems in interstellar space, everything audiences will see in Fragile Planet has a basis in astronomers’ best understanding of the Universe. View showtimes

CURIOSITY ON MARS What has the Curiosity rover been up to since its thrilling landing on the Red Planet? NASA’s latest explorer is searching for signs of past (or present) habitability in the martian soil. Discover why Mars captures our imaginations and learn about the latest discoveries from our robotic explorers in this live, 15-minute program hosted by our planetarium presenters in Hohfeld Hall. View showtimes

Watch the Earthquake Trailer Learn more about the exhibit »

Skywatcher’s Guide (Apr–Jun 2013)

April 2

Last Quarter Moon (April 3 for the Eastern Time Zone, where it occurs just after midnight, changing the date). Located against the stars that form the “teapot” asterism in Sagittarius the Archer.

April 10

New Moon. First sighting of the think crescent after New marks the start of Jumada-al-Thani, the sixth month in the Moon-based Islamic calendar—this sighting will be possible after sunset on April 11.

April 18

First Quarter Moon located in the southern sky at sunset, visible against the stars of Cancer the Crab until about midnight, when it sets in the west.

April 22

Peak of Lyrid meteor shower, courtesy of Comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher). This shower usually averages about 15 meteors per hour, but this year’s peak coincides with a waxing gibbous Moon whose light will interfere with observations.

April 25

The Full Moon rises at sunset, very near Saturn, against the stars of Libra the Scales.
A partial lunar eclipse occurs as the Moon passes into Earth’s shadow, but only barely, as the northern limb of the Full Moon just skims the edge of Earth’s inner shadow, or umbra. Not visible from any part of the U.S., this eclipse will be easily missed, even from the Indian Ocean, over which it is centered.

May 6

Peak of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, a display created by dust from Halley’s Comet raining down through the atmosphere, causing about 20 meteors per hour to be seen. Occurring when the Moon is a waning crescent, this shower should put on a good show, not obscured much by moonlight.

May 2

Last Quarter Moon rises about 4 hours before sunrise against the stars of Capricornus the Sea-Goat.

May 9

The New Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, but is too far away for it to completely cover the Sun’s entire disk, resulting in an annular eclipse that is seen along a path that crosses the Pacific Ocean. Observers in Hawaii will see a partial solar eclipse, during which the Moon’s silhouette blocks only about half the Sun’s disk.
Visual sighting of the thin crescent Moon after sunset on May 11 marks the start of the month Rajab in the Islamic calendar.

May 17

First Quarter Moon (on May 18 for the Eastern Time Zone), located against the stars of Gemini the Twins and visible due south at sunset.

May 24

Full Moon (May 25 in the Eastern Time Zone), rises at sunset in Scorpius the Scorpion, located near the bright red star Antares. A partial lunar eclipse occurs, but this time, only the penumbra—or the faint, outermost portion of Earth’s shadow—is involved, causing a penumbral eclipse. However, like the lunar eclipse on April 25, this is only technically the case, as the Moon barely skims the penumbra’s outer edge, making this eclipse so slight that it’s all but imperceptible.

May 31

Moon at Last Quarter, not visible until after midnight, rising with the stars of the constellation Aquarius the Water-Carrier. Six degrees south of it—though too faint to be visible without a telescope—is the planet Neptune.

June 8

New Moon - visual sighting of the first crescent after this marks the start of the month Sha’ban in the moon-based Islamic calendar. This sighting may be possible in much of the U.S. and Africa on June 9 if conditions are perfect, but will be easy after sunset on June 10.

June 16

First quarter Moon rises at about 1:30 pm. At sunset, it’s in the south-southwest. After dark, look just east of it for the star Spica in Virgo the Maiden, and just a little farther away, the planet Saturn.

June 20

Summer solstice at 10:04 pm PDT. For the Northern Hemisphere, this is the day with the longest daylight period of the year, when the Sun rises and sets at its most northerly points and makes its longest, highest arc across the sky.

June 23

Full Moon occurs less than a half-hour after the Moon’s closest approach to Earth, exerting a greater gravitation pull than usual and causing higher tides in coastal regions.

June 29

Last quarter Moon (on the 30th in the Eastern Time Zone), rising after midnight against the stars of Pisces the Fishes, with the faint planet Uranus just 3 degrees south of it (though not visible to the unaided eye).

	Sunrise	Local Noon	Sunset
April 1	6:55 a.m. PDT	1:14 p.m. PDT	7:33 p.m. PDT
May 1	6:14 a.m. PDT	1:07 p.m. PDT	8:00 p.m. PDT
June 1	5:49 a.m. PDT	1:08 p.m. PDT	8:26 p.m. PDT

(Times are for San Francisco, CA, and will vary slightly for other locations.)

Mercury The littlest planet is a morning object in April, rising almost an hour before the Sun, but with greatest elongation (its greatest angular separation from the Sun) having been on March 31, it’s already retreating into the dawn glow and is lost from view by mid- to late-April. With superior conjunction on May 11, Mercury passes behind the Sun as observed from Earth and doesn’t enter the evening sky until the end of that month, joining Venus and Jupiter in a tight trio on the 26th, then gradually leap-frogging over brilliant Venus through mid-June before disappearing back into the twilight. The Moon will help locate the elusive planet when it swings nearby on the mornings of April 7 & 8 and just after sunset on June 10. The Moon’s encounter with Mercury on May 9 is too close to the Sun and washed from view by the glare.

Venus Having passed superior conjunction on March 28, Venus is in the process of climbing up out of the evening twilight and can be seen in the northwest just after sunset starting in early May. As it does so, it has a beautiful close encounter with Mercury and Jupiter (the smallest and largest planets, respectively) on May 26 (but don’t limit your viewing to that date – it’s fascinating to watch them approach and pass each other during the days before and after, especially the 1-degree encounter between Venus and Jupiter on the 28th). Look low in the west just after sunset. Moving along the southbound half of the ecliptic (the plane of the solar system), Venus will be visible in the evening sky for the rest of the year but won’t climb very high above the horizon. The Moon’s close encounter with Venus in April is too close to the Sun to be seen, but they make very pretty pairings on the evenings of May 10 and June 9.

Mars In conjunction with the Sun on April 17, the red planet is hidden in the Sun’s glare for most of the season, only beginning to peek out of the morning twilight by the end of June, when it rises an hour before dawn, located between the horns of Taurus the Bull.

Jupiter The largest planet is an evening object, visible after sunset and located against the stars of Taurus the Bull. As it gradually descending lower each night into the west each sunset. Don’t miss its clustering with Mercury and Venus in late-May, climaxing with the tightest gathering of the three on the evening of May 26 and its 1-degree approach of Venus, though very low in the west-northwest just after sunset. Jupiter disappears into the Sun’s glow by the end of May and is hidden from view in the Sun’s glare in June, passing conjunction with the Sun on June 19. Look for the crescent Moon nearby on the evenings of April 14 and May 11.

Saturn At opposition on April 28, the ringed planet rises about 2-1/2 hours after sunset at the beginning of April and at sunset by the end of the month. Located just inside the boundary of the constellation Libra the Scales, the slow-moving planet actually retrogrades back into Virgo from May through July, then resumes its normal west-to-east motion, returning into Libra. The Moon passes nearby on the nights of April 25, May 22, and June 18 & 19.

Spring Notes

Notice the number of instances this quarter when an event takes place on a certain date in the Pacific Time Zone, but on the following date in the Eastern Time Zone? That’s because those events, such as the Full Moon in May, occur just before midnight, PDT, and correcting for EDT advances the clock by three hours, crossing midnight and—because we start our days at midnight—changing the date.

April 12, 1961 is the day that Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly in space, orbiting Earth three times aboard his Vostok spacecraft. The date has since become an international commemoration known as “Yuri’s Night,” marked by talks, demonstrations of technology, and presentations of art and music that embrace the spirit of space exploration.

Visible on Spring evenings are the stars of the Zodiacal constellation Leo the Lion, formed by a “sickle,” or backward question-mark, followed by a small right triangle just east of it. The brightest star in Leo is Regulus, the “dot” of the backward question-mark, which represents the Lion’s heart. The third-brightest in the constellation is Denebola, at the sharpest point of the triangle representing the Lion’s hindquarters, and itself said to represent the tip of the Lion’s tail. The second-brightest star in Leo is at the back of the Lion’s neck, in the backward question-mark that forms his head and heart. This star, known as Gamma Leonis, has the traditional Arabic name Algieba, and is about 130 light years away. Telescopes reveal that it is actually a close binary system, consisting of two stars, and the brighter component is known to be orbited by a planet approximately 2.14 times the mass of Jupiter. Meanwhile, the brightest star in the night sky known to have a planet is also visible—look low in the west just after sunset for Pollux, the brighter of the two stars marking the heads of Gemini the Twins (fainter sibling Castor is to the right of Pollux). The Moon passes between Pollux and Procyon (in adjacent Canis Minor) on April 17. It passes distantly in line with Castor and Pollux on the evenings of May 15 and June 11, and brilliant Venus lines up, forming an interesting progression with medium-bright Castor and bright Pollux very low in the west-northwest on the evening of June 24.

During April—particularly when Mars passes behind the Sun on April 17—NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (also known as the Curiosity rover) is out of contact with Earth and on its own. No communications will be attempted with the robotic field laboratory on the surface of the Red Planet out of concern that solar interference could corrupt any of the commands, but Curiosity will still be in contact with two spacecraft that are in orbit around Mars. It will also perform preprogrammed work in situ, such as monitoring environmental conditions and radiation, which don’t require much human intervention. Science operations, including, rock and soil analysis, photography, and roving, will resume when the angular separation between Mars and the Sun widens, allowing for direct contact with Earth in May.

Astronomy Day, founded in Northern California in1973, is celebrated on a Saturday nearest the first quarter Moon in either April or May. It’s part of a broader event, Astronomy Week, which begins the preceding Monday. This year, Astronomy Day falls on April 20, and observatories, planetariums, science museums, and amateur astronomy clubs nationwide will be bringing the science of stargazing to the people with activities, presentations, or other special events. Check with your nearest astronomy organization or science center to find out how they’ll be celebrating!

Asteroids making their closest approach to Earth during April (though none so close as to be of any concern whatsoever, all being more than the distance from Earth to the Sun): 91007 Ianfleming (007...get it?), 10189 Normanrockwell (artist), 3264 Bounty (of “Mutiny” fame), 5231 Verne (author Jules), 9500 Camelot (of Arthurian legend), 79896 Billlhaley (early rock & roller whose name is often misused as that of the more famous Halley’s Comet), 3153 Lincoln (U.S. President), 16626 Thumper (after the character in the 1942 Disney cartoon “Bambi”), and 7016 Conandoyle (Sir Arthur, creator of Sherlock Holmes)

On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to fly in space, although unlike Yuri Gagarin’s 1-orbit/nearly 2-hour flight, Shepard’s trip lasted only 15 minutes, basically going up and coming down, splashing into the Atlantic only 302 miles away from his launch site at Cape Canasveral.

An eclipse season occurs this quarter, when eclipses of the Sun and Moon are possible. This happens because the Moon’s orbit around Earth is tilted by 5.5 degrees, and most of the time, the Moon misses the perfect alignment with Earth and the Sun that can cause an eclipse. It’s only when the Moon’s orbit intersects the plane of Earth’s orbit around the Sun that this can happen, and this only occurs about every six months. Unfortunately, the two lunar eclipses that are occurring this eclipse season are quite unremarkable and barely visible: during the first (on April 25), the Full Moon passes mostly through only the very diffuse outer shadow of our planet (the penumbra), and in the second (on May 25), it barely grazes the penumbra, rendering these eclipses virtually undetectable. On the other hand, the solar eclipse that occurs this season (on May 10) is an annular eclipse whose path crosses the Pacific Ocean. Observers in Hawaii will see a partial eclipse of the Sun during which about half the Sun’s diameter will be blocked by the silhouette of the Moon. There can be two eclipse seasons per year, roughly six month apart, and in a single year, there can be seven eclipses of some kind of either the Sun or the Moon.

Asteroids having their nearest approach to Earth in May, though none closer than Earth’s distance to the Sun: 3623 (vaudevillian Charlie) Chaplin, 5020 (science fiction author Isaac) Asimov, 9007 (fictional superspy 007) James Bond...and, in an interesting coincidence, 13070 (actor) Seanconnery, 5102 (inventor/statesman) Benfranklin, and 16809 (island) Galapagos, 15131 (actor) Alanalda, 334 (city of) Chicago, 5277 (city of Brisbane), and 6349 (city of) Acapulco. In June, 19383 (rock band) Rolling Stones, 5049 (fictional detective Holmes) Sherlock, 5405 (“Peter Pan” home) Neverland, 1772 (cosmonaut Yuri) Gagarin, 13677 (deep-sea submersible) Alvin, 1640 (fictional Captain) Nemo, 25924 (author/humorist) Douglasadams, 42776 (city of) Casablanca, 4147 (Beatle John) Lennon, 4148 (Beatle Paul) McCartney, and 3834 (rocker Frank Zappa) Zappafrank. There are others, of course, but these are the ones with the most fun names from pop culture. Many more asteroids are named after figures from science, history, and mythology.

A rare opportunity to spot the distant planet Uranus presents itself on the morning of June 30, when the waning crescent Moon is located just 3.5 degrees north of the faint, green planet, both against the stars of the constellation Pisces the Fishes. Theoretically within naked-eye visibility, Uranus is very slow-moving and easily mistaken for a star. In fact, records indicate that it was observed as early as 1690, but its non-stellar nature wasn’t determined until observed by Sir William Herschel in 1781, and even he thought he was looking at a comet. It wasn’t until 1783 that Herschel himself publicly agreed that he had discovered a planet—in one fell swoop doubling the diameter of the known solar system. Through binoculars or telescope, Uranus appears as a conspicuous, greenish “star” in a region fairly devoid of bright objects.

Also, on June 30, 1908, an asteroid estimated to have been roughly half the size of a football field entered Earth’s atmosphere and exploded over Tunguska, a (fortunately) remote region in Siberia, releasing 1000 times the energy of the atomic device dropped on Hiroshima during World War II and flattening a forest of 80 million trees, with the heat-blast being felt over 40 miles away, where a man was knocked to the ground, and atmospheric effects due to dust from the explosion detected over the U.S. for several months afterward. By comparison, 2012 DA14, the asteroid which passed 17,200 miles from Earth on February 15, 2013, is estimated to have been about the same size as the Tunguska object.