Planetarium show probes student minds

General Admission

Friends, and family of all ages are welcome to attend

Next showings

October 29

Wednesday

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

November 21

Friday 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

For additional information:

Contact:

Dale Fields

Associate Professor of Astronomy FieldsDL@piercecollege.edu

Science, Imaging and Astronomy Expo brought together space enthusiasts as well as students

Relaxed in reclining seats with the ambience of a dimly lit room, astronomy lovers of all ages explored the universe in the planetarium at Pierce College’s Center for the Sciences on Saturday, Oct. 11.

Pierce College held its second annual Science, Imaging and Astronomy (SIA) Expo allowing science and astronomy enthusiasts to connect and indulge in a world of telescopes, satellite images and three dimensional astronomical pictures.

One of the main attractions offered at the SIA Expo were the different Planetarium shows. The shows were scheduled throughout the day and many gathered to expand and gain their knowledge of the universe and the world around them with Pierce College Astronomy Instructor, Dale Fields.

“The rest of the universe is an understandable thing,” Fields said. Fields tried to make one of the main goals of the Planetarium show a way for people to see that our universe is not chaotic and that it is something that we have the ability to figure out and the capacity to understand.

According to Pierce College student and physics and astronomy tutor, Stavros Diamantopoulos, the planetarium show is always something attractive even if

-Dale

you don’t know anything about astronomy.

“The planetarium is cool, and it attracts all ages,” Diamantopoulos said.

There were three different shows that went on throughout the day.

Morning shows of “The Voyager Files” and “Hubble Discoveries” as well as a mid-day presentation about “Exploring the Universe.”

The first show of the day was based on The Voyager and its missions along with analysis and photos of different planets in our solar system, space probes and their features.

The third and only presentation about “Exploring the Universe” gave an in depth lesson of the world, planets, universe and galaxies around us.

Fields said that he does more night time observations rather than the early morning events, like the blood moon on Wednesday, Oct. 8.

Starting with a view of the sky and how the sun moved during the day from morning to night, Fields began with an on-earth view then zoomed out for a larger view of our home planet.

“We could be the descendants of

Martians,” Fields said.

The planetarium shows were a way for people to gain some perspective on the multiple possibilities of our galaxy’s development and how the universe around us affects every aspect of life.

Leaving viewers with a better understanding of life through short animations, pictures, different dimensions and views of the planets and their surrounding moons, some audience members were even able to pick out their favorite portions.

“My favorite part was probably the pictures,” said Moorpark College student Paul Mauricio.

There were many things that audience members gained from the show.

Pierce Groves, 7, a student from Blanche Reynolds Elementary School was one of the biggest enthusiasts in the crowd asking many questions and trying to fulfill his curiosity.

“Can you bring dirt to Venus and then plant a tree and then it could filter the carbon dioxide?” P. Groves asked.

According to P. Groves, going to the planetarium show helped him learn that our galaxy and universe are bigger than we may think.

“I know that Mars used to have a ton of water, but it used to be the most watery planet in the galaxy, but then an asteroid destroyed all the water slowly,” P. Groves said.

The Grove family came to the SIA Expo because of their son’s curiosity.

Pierce’s father, Keith Groves,