PLANETARIUM INFORMATION

On Tuesday January 20, class will meet at the Abrams Planetarium, on the NE corner of Shaw road and Farm Lane, for a planetarium show presented by Bill Abbett. The planetarium holds only about 120 people at a time, so there will be two identical shows for this class. Please attend only one of the shows, so that everyone has a chance to see it. The shows are 50 minutes long, so we have stretched the class time slightly to accomodate two shows. You may come to whichever show you like, but try to be a few minutes early so the show you want doesn't fill up before
you get in. There is no charge for the planetarium during the class shows. The times are:

show 1: Tuesday January 20, 10:00-10:50am
show 2: Tuesday January 20, 11:00-11:50am

During the planetarium show you will learn about what is currently visible in the night sky; the brightest stars and constellations you can see throughout the year; the effect of the tilt of the earth's axis on what we see in the sky, and how this tilt causes he earth to have seasons; the phases of the moon; and the motion of the planets.
The planetarium is particularly helpful in visualizing the earth's place in the solar system and the relative positions of the earth, moon, and planets compared to the Sun. It will be useful if you read Chapter 4 of our book "Discovering Astronomy" before seeing the show, and then use the planetarium presentation to help you
interpret the topics discussed in that chapter. We will discuss Chapter 4 in class on Thursday, January 22, and the planetarium show should also help you understand that lecture. Therefore, you are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to view one of the planetarium shows.