Summer sky to make appearance in planetarium

The summer sky will be available to students and community members Monday during the final planetarium show of the school year, “Summer Sky Highlights and the Transit of Venus.”

There will be two 45-minute shows: one at 7 p.m. and the other at 8:15 p.m. Admission is $2 for the public and free for students with I.D.

Planetarium Director Pat Hanrahan said the beauty of a planetarium is that you don’t need to wait three months to see the summer sky.

“The areas around Sagittarius and Cygnus have so many objects that are very interesting,” said Hanrahan about his favorite part of the summer sky.

The show opens with the transit of Venus, when Venus will be crossing in front of the sun.

The actual crossing of Venus happens at 3:05 p.m. on June 5 and will continue through sunset, according to Hanrahan.

“I might bring my own solar telescope to campus that day, too,” he said.
“I hope to show a series of simulated pictures that should show what to expect,” Hanrahan said about Venus and the planetarium show.

The show will also focus on things that can be seen in the deep part of the sky, including the nebulae of Cygnus, globular clusters in constellations, galaxies, and deep sky objects within Sagittarius.

Hanrahan is also looking forward to showing off some of his photos of the partial solar eclipse that occurred May 20.

“I travelled to a place called Likely, California, and saw it from there. The sky had become cloudy but the clouds parted just as the eclipse was getting interesting,” said Hanrahan about the event.

“I got a number of pictures of the eclipse with both my telephoto camera and through my telescope,” he said.

According to Hanrahan, Oregon hasn’t had a visible solar eclipse in “some time, ” but the next big event will be in August 2017 when there will be a total solar eclipse visible from Oregon. “But you will need to travel south” to view it, he said.

For more information about the planetarium show, contact Hanrahan at [email protected].