Planetarium show

The spring sky will be the topic of discussion at the upcoming planetarium show on Monday, appropriately titled “A Spring Comet and Highlights of the Spring Sky.”

The first comet of the year, Pan-STARRS, should appear by about Wednesday and be visible for about two weeks, according to MHCC Planetarium Director Pat Hanrahan. “Pan-STARRS was supposed to be a lot more visible than what they think it may be now, but it still (might) surprise us,” he said.

Hanrahan expects the comet still will serve as an interesting binocular or telescope object. He said it will be visible fairly low on the Western horizon following sunset.

It’s been observed that “comets are something like cats: they may all have tails but they do what they doggone well please,” Hanrahan said with regard to comets failing to meet expectations.

Hanrahan also plans to cover the recent Russian meteorite and asteroid event. “I’ll be showing some of what they found out of that, and I’ll be showing different views” of the incident, he said.

“I’m also going to show what (meteorites look) like when you cut one open,” he said. He holds special interest in the meteorites’ chondrules. “They’re made out of very primitive material that was going around when the solar system was just being put together,” he said.

Locations of planets also will be covered during the presentation as well as other spring sky attractions, such as the Virgo galaxy.

There are two shows on Monday, at 7 p.m. and at 8:15 p.m. Admission is free for students with I.D. and $2 for the public. Children are welcome and questions are encouraged.