Under the simulated night sky of the Ball State University Planetarium, students will be able to tour the sky tonight from Earth to the Milky Way and other galaxies, planetarium director Ron Kaitchuck said.
"The universe is much prettier than most people know," Kaitchuck said. "It just takes a little help from a telescope."
The presentation, "Celestial hotspots to visit - the universe is really, really big," is part of a series about the fundamentals of astronomy, he said. The series, "A Visitor's Guide to the Universe (for the cosmically challenged)," is like a mini-astronomy class, he said. The previous programs taught students how to make sense of the night sky and telescopes, Kaitchuck said.
The program will feature images collected by Ball State astronomers, an observatory in Arizona and National Aeronautics and Space Administrations's Hubble Space Telescope, he said.
"I hope [students] will get out an appreciation for something beyond the Earth and everyday life," Kaitchuck said. "There's a whole universe above our head. It gives us some perspective as humans about how insignificant we are."
"Celestial hotspots to visit" is the last part of the Planetarium's three-part series. It will take place today and Saturday in the planetarium, Cooper Science Complex Room 90, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. and next weekend, April 20 and 21, at the same times. The program is free and open to everyone, Kaitchuck said.
According to Ball State's Web site, the program is for people more than 8 years old. Weather permitting, the campus observatory will be open for visitors after the presentation, the Web site said.
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