Corey Verkouteren
Last Thursday, February 8th, the Anderson Hancock Planetarium held its free monthly star talk and show that is open to the public. These events show attendees some stellar constellations to look out for and where the visible planets are in the night sky. This is followed by recent or relevant astronomical events and the show ends with a full-dome video relating to the astronomy topic of that month.
February’s star talk started with a demonstration of the upcoming solar eclipse, which is happening on April 8th. Furthermore, there was some discussion of interesting happenstances that happen during an eclipse. Such as birds chirping as though it were evening, strange shadows, and peculiar sky colors. The eclipse’s path of totality, where the sun’s light will be completely blocked, goes right through Ohio! So, make sure to travel the (relatively) short distance to Northern Ohio on the 8th of April! Also notably, this is the last time a solar eclipse will be visible from the United States for the next 20 years. Planetarium shows leading up to the eclipse will have eclipse glasses (making it safe to view the solar eclipse) available for a donation of $2.00.
A brief overview of recent notable events in the night’s sky were also given, including Orion and Jupiter. Another peculiar behavior of the night sky was that Venus was not visible, which was noted to be somewhat strange for this time of year.
After the star talk segment the full-dome video began. The video started with a depiction of a solar eclipse, which is why it was chosen for this month’s event. The video primarily focused on the sun though, as the title “Secrets of the Sun” suggests. Besides brief descriptions of all types of eclipses, like lunar eclipses, the video went on to the history of the Sun. From ancient beliefs of the Sun to the actual theorized creation of it, the video gave beautiful visuals and presented fascinating scientific discoveries. Once history was covered, more recent discoveries like prominences, solar flares, and the origin of the Sun’s energy were showcased. Though described as an average star, the video did an excellent job of explaining the curious “secrets” that the Sun holds.
As always, attendees were dazzled by the event. Keep an eye out for the next planetarium event “One Sky” on Thursday March 21st and don’t forget to mark your calendars for the eclipse!
