UCLA Planetarium Special Topic Shows

All of our Wednesday night public shows and most of our private shows now include one of our Special Topic Shows. These short 15-20 presentations follow our normal 30-45 minute star show, and focus on a variety of astronomy-related subjects. They are designed to be interesting and meaningful for anyone who comes to our planetarium. See the schedule on our main page to find out what show is being shown each week.

Current shows in our library are:

Cassini at Saturn: Revelations and New Questions at the Ringed Giant
• Developed by: Britney Schmidt, ESS Graduate Student
• This presentation will discuss the accomplishments of the Cassini Spacecraft just over a year after its first encounter in the Saturnian system. The exquisite ring system, diverse icy moons, enigmatic Titan and Saturn itself are highlighted in this look at some of the most dramatic results from Cassini. Images, sounds and videos, along with commentary will provide details and perspective from arguably the most sensational of NASA's planetary missions.

Our Star, The Sun
• Developed by: Sarah Lipscy, UCLA Astronomy Graduate Student
• This show introduces us to a familiar solar system companion, the Sun. Learn what everyone should know about an object so important to our existence on Earth.

Life in the Universe
• Developed by: Shelley Wright, UCLA Astronomy Graduate Student
• "Life in the Universe" explores one of the most intriguing questions ever speculated: Does life exist elsewhere in the Universe? This show highlights some of the major scientific explorations of Astrobiology. We explore such concepts of whether life may exist in our own solar system, within the Milky Way, beyond our own Galaxy, and the possibility of communication with extraterrestrial intelligence.

Telescopes of the World
• Developed by: Sarah Lipscy, UCLA Astronomy Graduate Student
• Astronomers have been using telescopes since they were invented in the 1600's. Learn about some of the most famous ones built over the last 400 years.

A Tour of Adaptive Optics
• Developed by: Seth Hornstein & Matthew Barczys, UCLA Astronomy Graduate Students
• Adaptive optics is an exciting and relatively new technology for astronomers. It allows astronomers using ground-based telescopes to take the "twinkle" out of starlight. The resulting images are as detailed as those taken from space with the Hubble Space Telescope.

Galaxies
• Developed by: Ryan Mallery, UCLA Astronomy Graduate Student
• "Galaxies" discusses several topics concerning the largest objects in our Universe. These include what composes galaxies, the Hubble tuning fork diagram for classifying galaxies, our Galaxy and its structure. The show also briefly touches on other topics concerning galaxies and cosmology such as black holes, Active Galactic Nuclei (known as AGN), dark matter, Hubble expansion, and dark energy.

Mars!
• Developed by: Art Huffman, UCLA Physics Lecturer
• Designed for the conjunction of Mars in August 2003, this show gives an overview of what is known about Mars, and explains the concept of a Mars "conjunction."

History of the US Human Spaceflight Program
• Developed by: Matthew Barczys, UCLA Astronomy Graduate Student
• Created in February 2003 following the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy, this show recounts some of the most significant events in US Spaceflight.

A Tour of the Solar System and Beyond
• Developed by: Quinn Konopacky & Seth Hornstein, UCLA Astronomy Graduate Students
• Start at the Sun and take a tour through the Solar System and into the Milky Way Galaxy. View and learn about many types of astronomical objects.

Life in Our Solar System
• Developed by: Michael McElwain, UCLA Astronomy Graduate Student
• The Earth is the only place in the entire Universe that we know has or has had life of any shape or form. The proximity of other objects in our Solar System makes them the best candidates to discover clues regarding the origins and varieties of life. This show will lead you through the Solar System to discuss the most probable places to find life or the remnants of previous life forms.

Journey to the Center of the Milky Way: A Supermassive Black Hole
• Developed by: Jessica Lu, UCLA Astronomy Graduate Student
• Take a journey to the center of our Milky Way galaxy. See what the Milky Way looks like from Earth, learn how we observe the center of our galaxy, and keep zooming in until we can learn things about the supermassive black hole that resides at the Galactic Center.

Hubble: The First Decade
• Developed by: NASA's Hubble Outreach and Education team
• From its initial problems in 1990, to the amazing repair mission in 1993, to the incredible discoveries it is making today, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is astronomy's most storied observatory. Hubble: The First Decade captures it all, from a breathtaking view of a comet crashing into Jupiter to it's key role in determining the age of the universe. Produced in 2000.

Hubble Reborn
• Developed by: NASA's Hubble Outreach and Education team
• Produced in 2002 Hubble Reborn chronicles the latest and most difficult mission to repair and upgrade NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, an endeavor that improved the telescope's vision by a factor of 10! The video takes viewers into space with shuttle astronauts, who gave Hubble new eyes, and into Mission Control during the first-ever on-orbit power down of NASA's space science flagship.

Hubble 2003
• Developed by: NASA's Hubble Outreach and Education team
• Hubble 2003 is the first of the 'yearbook' video series. It looks back at the top Hubble Space Telescope news stories from last year and looks forward to future discoveries. From extrasolar planets to black holes to looking back at the beginning of time itself, Hubble 2003 highlights the most exciting and intriguing Hubble science.