About the John C. Wells PlanetariumThe John C. Wells Planetarium is a $2 million, state-of-the-art hybrid facility, the only one of its kind in the world. It hosts both an Evans & Sutherland Digistar 5 digital projection system and a Goto Chronos opto-mechanical star projector that provides visitors with a superior and real-istic night sky. Our digital system allows us to present unique full dome movies as well as proj-ect the multi-wavelength universe on the dome. Our Goto Chronos starball allows us to project an authentic night sky for any location on the Earth’s surface, across the past 100,000 years. The Planetarium has 72 seats, offers free Saturday afternoon public shows but is also available for use mid-week by school groups and community groups (i.e., church groups, girl guides/boy scouts, etc.) at no charge. See www.jmu.edu/planetarium/Reservations.shtml to see our current schedule to determine availability. Fill out the reservation request form to book your group! The planetarium is also available for private functions (i.e., weddings, birthday parties, etc.). Please email the planetarium director at planetarium@jmu.edu for further details.

SPACE CAMPJames Madison University’s Outreach and Engagement and the Department of Physics and Astron­omy are excited to announce two week­long summer space camps open to all middle­school age students! The camp will be led by Shanil Virani, the director of the John C. Wells Planetarium. The first is a week­long residential space camp where campers will spend the week at JMU July 6–13. The residential camp will be for rising seventh­, eighth­, ninth­ and 10th­graders. The second is our day space camp that will be held July 21–25, 2014, for rising fifth­, sixth­, seventh­ and eighth­graders.

Registration will begin in the spring, and will require a $25 deposit. To be notified when registra­tion opens, please fill out our notification form online. More information about the camps also will be posted at www.jmu.edu/outreach/spacecamp.shtml.

Using JMU’s unique facilities such as the John C. Wells Planetarium and Science on a Sphere® — a sphere­shaped visualization tool developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — camp­goers will get a perspective of Earth and other planets like an astronaut would. They will engineer solving challenges like light pollution and building rovers that would successfully land on another planet.

We seek to inspire and excite the next generation of scientists and engineers. This exciting camp will demonstrate to students that science is constantly changing, constantly uncovering new clues about why our universe is the way it is and not some other way. We will ask questions and then use the scientific method to try to answer them! We will investigate the size and scale of our solar system, learn about the robotic exploration of it, and learn about our own planet Earth and our fragile environment! Special summer camp visitors include WHSV­TV 3’s Aubrey Urbanowicz and perhaps even a NASA astronaut!

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Find Us Online or on Social MediaVisit our website (www.jmu.edu/planetarium) to stay up-to-date on new events, learn about new discoveries and join our mailing list. Like the John C. Wells Planetarium on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and check out our videos on YouTube where we tackle popular miscon-ceptions about astronomy! Join the conversation!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jmu.planetarium Twitter: www.twitter.com/jmuplanetarium YouTube: www.youtube.com/JMUplanetarium Website: www.jmu.edu/planetarium

THE UNIVERSE IS YOURS TO DISCOVER

John C. Wells PLANETARIUM

PUBLIC SCIENCE TALKS All presentations are FREE and perfect for the young scientist or engineer in your family!

Explosions in the Cosmos: How the Elements Were MadeThursday, Oct. 17, 7 p.m., Miller Hall, Room 1101 Dr. Jolie A. Cizewski, Distinguished Professor of Physics, Rutgers UniversityCarl Sagan liked to say, “We are all made of star stuff.” The oxygen that we breathe, the car­bon in our body, the iron in our lungs, all the stuff that you, I and the world are made up of can be traced to massive stars that then exploded in a fantastic explosion! Come to a special public presentation where Dr. Jolie Cizewski from Rutgers University will tell us about explosions in the cosmos and how the periodic table was formed!

Pluto: Planet or Pretender?Thursday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m., Wilson Hall Auditorium Dr. Heidi Hammel, Executive Vice-President, AURA, Inc.Dr. Heidi B. Hammel will tell the story behind the current debate about Pluto’s planethood. She will describe Pluto’s history, and also talk about future exploration of Pluto. There will be oppor­tunities for audience participation during a hands­on simulation of our solar system’s struc­ture. At the end of the talk, we will recreate the vote by astronomers that took place in Prague in August 2006 that removed Pluto from the ranks of the planets. Come and see how you would have decided the Pluto vote if you had been in Prague! This talk will be suitable for all ages.

Pulsars, Magnetars, and Black Holes (oh my!): The Wickedly Cool Stellar UndeadThursday, April 17, 7 p.m., Wilson Hall Auditorium Dr. Scott Ransom, National Radio Astronomy ObservatoryThe biggest stars burn the fastest and brightest, and when they die, they do so spectacularly, exploding as supernovae and leaving behind some of the most fantastic objects in the uni­verse: neutron stars and black holes. In this talk, Dr. Ransom will discuss how these crazy objects are created, some of their amazing properties and why we (probably!) don’t need to worry about them too much here in our cozy homes on Earth.

PHOTOGR APHS COURTESY OF THE JOHN C . WELLS PL ANE TAR IUM AND BY K AT IE L AND IS

Black Holes: The Other Side of InfinityThere’s a place from which nothing escapes, not even light, where time and space literally come to end. It’s at this point, inside this fantastic riddle, that black holes exert their sway over the cosmos ... and our imaginations. Zip through other­worldly wormholes, experience the creation of the Milky Way Galaxy, and witness the violent death of a star and subsequent birth of a black hole. Mathematical equations, cutting­edge science and Einstein’s theories fill in holes along the way, providing the most complete picture yet on this mysterious phenomenon. Can you feel the pull? (25 minutes)

Cosmic Castaways There are places where the night sky has no constellations. No Orion, no Big Dipper, nothing but a few lonely, faraway stars and a few faint, ghostly patches of light. Most stars lie within the crowded boundaries of galax­ies, traveling with their brothers and sisters in a vast galactic family. But some find themselves on their own, deep within voids between the galaxies. These are the cosmic castaways. (25 minutes)

Comets and Discovery The show takes the viewer on a journey of discovery. We follow two intrepid comet hunters in first­ person: one, a modern explorer; the other, Caroline Herschel, the famous 18th­century comet hunt­ress who ruled the skies for many genera­tions. With both, we learn how they each searched the skies, made their discoveries and reported them for other astronomers to bear out. We also learn about what people thought comets were and their importance to them. (20 minutes)

Dawn of the Space Age Re­live the excitement of the early days of space exploration, from the launch of the first artificial satel­lite Sputnik to the magnificent lunar landings and privately operated space flights. Be immersed and overwhelmed with this most accurate historic reconstruction of man’s first steps into space. Who were the men and women who took part in these death­defying days? Witness their drive, their passion and their perseverance to explore in Dawn of the Space Age. (30 minutes)

Exoplanets: Worlds of Wonder Using the latest data from multi­ple planet­hunting missions including Kepler, Exoplanets: Worlds of Wonder follows mankind’s first Space Probe as it journeys outside our solar system to the many new worlds astronomers are discovering beyond. Audiences will explore Gas Giant planets caught in a deadly dance with their host stars, frozen Rogue planets hurling through space, molten rocky worlds now known to science and new planets orbiting within the Goldi­locks Zone, the habitable region around a star where Earth­like worlds may exist. (20 minutes)

Flight Adventures Dreams of flying, model aircraft and a young girl and her grandfather come together in this multi­media planetarium show about the sci­ence of aeronautics. Learn about famous inventors and aviators of the past and the pioneers who first revealed the four forces of flight. See images of aircraft past, pres­ent and future and imagine where flight might take us. (22 minutes)

Ice Worlds The delicate balance between ice, water and the existence of life has been a topic of exploration and dis­covery in science for generations. In travels to the Arctic and Antarctic regions of our planet, we’ll exam­ine the ecosystems that live and thrive there and see how their survival is connected with our own. Beyond Earth, we’ll see how the existence of ice shapes the landscape and the natural systems on other planets and moons in our solar system. (30 minutes)

In Search of Our Cosmic Origins About 400 years ago, in Padua, Italy, Galileo observed the sky with a new instrument, the telescope, and our view of the world was transformed. Now, follow the young astronomer Ariane in the show In Search of our Cosmic Ori­gins to discover how astronomers are continuing Gali leo’s quest to understand the universe. Ariane takes us on a journey from ALMA’s unique site high in Chile’s Atacama region, through our Milky Way and onward to some of the most distant galaxies,

seen as they were in the early universe. Closer to home, we learn about the formation of stars and planets, and how ALMA will help us answer ques­tions about our origins. ALMA is the leading tele­scope for observing the cool universe — the relic radiation of the Big Bang, and the molecular gas and dust that constitute the building blocks of stars, planetary systems, galaxies and life itself.

Legends of the Night Sky: Orion Legends of the Night Sky: Orion is the world’s first traditionally ani­mated full dome movie. Legends takes a fun­filled and imaginative look at the stories and legends about Orion, the great hunter of the winter sky. Leg­ends: Orion is an ideal show for family audiences and younger viewers. Greek mythology will never seem the same once you’ve seen all this produc­tion from AudioVisual and Spitz Creative Media. (24 minutes)

Microcosm: The Adventure Within At the Center of Miniaturized Medi­cine in the year 2053, you’ll shrink down to the size of a microbe and get injected into a patient who is suf­fering an infection from a mysterious virus. Produced in cooperation with the University of Utah Medical School, this high­speed immer­sive adventure is not only exciting, but educational as well. Traveling from the base of the eye to the interior of the heart, you’ll explore exotic ports of call in CMM Probe Alpha with its robotic outboard scout vehicle. As you piece together the clues the virus has left behind, you’ll race against time to save the patient on your roller­coaster ride through the body. Laser battles, genetic weapons, and lots of surprises along the way make this a show audiences will want to experience again and again. (17 minutes)

One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure Follow Sesame Street’s Big Bird and Elmo as they explore the night sky with Hu Hu Zhu, a muppet from Zhima Jie, the Chinese co­production of Sesame Street. Together, they take an imaginary trip from Sesame Street to the moon, where they discover how different it is from Earth. (27 minutes)

Molecularium Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Molecularium is an exciting new animation, in a planetarium set­ting, created to spark interest in the atoms and molecules that constitute our world. Via pioneer­ing digital dome technology, viewers are com­pletely immersed in a captivating virtual world. (20 minutes)

Origins of Life Starting with the Big Bang, in chronological order the show deals with the prebiotic chemistry in the universe, the formation of stars, formation of solar systems and the first life on Earth. Origins of Life covers the great extinctions as well as our search for primitive life beyond our planet. (30 minutes)

Planetary Visions Best described as “an adventurous tour of the solar system,” this pro­gram is a perfect mix of fantastic fun and tack­sharp content. This is the solar system show for our theater. Kids love it and adults do, too! With its whimsical, flying robot main char­acter, Toggle, and the interactivity of the oper­ator with the show and the audience, this is a treat for all who attend. (36 minutes)

Secrets of the Sun An intimate look at the role the sun plays in the life of our solar system. From the nuclear forces churning at the heart of the sun to the mass ejections of solar material into the surrounding space, we will experi­ence the power of the sun and its impact on the planets and ultimately life on Earth. We will trace the life cycle of the sun itself, going back to its beginnings and moving forward in time to its eventual death. (20 minutes)

Seven Wonders Turn back the pages of time and witness the ancient wonders of the world as they appeared thousands of years ago. Travel to Egypt to visit the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Great Pyramids, to Per­sia to see the original Mausoleum, to Babylon to

explore the fabled Hanging Gardens, to Greece to tour the Temples of Zeus and Artemis, and to Rhodes to stand in the shadow of the tower­ing Colossus. We will investigate the theories of how these wonders were created, and get a glimpse of some of the universe’s greatest wonders. (20 minutes)

Stars of the Pharaohs Travel to ancient Egypt to see how science was used to tell time, make a workable calendar and align huge buildings. You’ll learn about the connection the ancient Egyptians felt with the stars and various astronomical phenomena. And thanks to the time Digital Theater’s production team spent on location in Egypt taking photographs and measurements, you’ll see some of the most spectacular temples and tombs of the ancient world recreated in their original splen­dor. (40 minutes)

HOLIDAY SHOWSFridays and Saturdays, Nov. 29–Dec. 21, 7 and 8:30 p.m. Sundays, Dec. 1–22, 2 p.m.

Mystery of the Christmas Star Produced by Evans & Sutherland Digital Theater, Mystery of the Christmas Star allows audiences to journey back 2,000 years to Beth­lehem in pursuit of a scientific explanation of the star the wise men followed to find the baby Jesus. This modern retelling of the Christmas story is sure to charm and captivate audiences of all ages.

Special Shows: First Night Harrisonburg The John C. Wells Planetarium is pleased to partner with First Night Harrisonburg and offer family­ friendly activities on New Year’s Eve 2013! At 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., please join us to see Sesame Street’s One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure. Please join us to see Exoplanets: Worlds Of Wonder at 7 p.m. and Comets and Discovery at 7:30 p.m. For more information, including a schedule of events for First Night Harrisonburg, please visit our website.

SATURDAY SHOW DESCRIPTIONSA live star talk follows all Saturday matinée shows.

Septembern Flight Adventures

Origins of Life

Octobern One World, One Sky:

Big Bird’s Adventuren Black Holes:

The Other Side of Infinity

Novembern Exoplanets: Worlds of Wonder n Comets and Discovery

Decembern Molecularium n Secrets of the Sun

Januaryn Flight Adventures n Ice Worlds

Februaryn Legends of the Sky: Orion n Cosmic Castaways

Marchn One World, One Sky:

Big Bird’s Adventuren In Search of Our

Cosmic Origins

Apriln Microcosm:

The Adventure Within

n Dawn of the Space Age

Mayn Exoplanets: Worlds of Wonder n Stars of the Pharaohs

Junen Planetary Visions n Seven Wonders

SATURDAY SHOW SCHEDULE

The John C. Wells Planetarium is amazing.

It offers visitors a total-immersion-in-space-experience not available

at any other planetarium in the world. “We’re the only planetarium

in the world with a HD digital movie capability and a GOTO Chronus

star ball that allows us to project an authentic view of what the night

sky would look like on any given day at any given location on the

earth,” says planetarium director Shanil Virani.

SOLAR OBSERVING Come see our sun like you’ve never seen it before! Every Sat-urday afternoon that is sunny, we will have our solar telescopes set up outside Miller Hall where we invite visitors to view our sun safely through these special tele-scopes. You will see our sun as the active, dynamic star that it is rather than the pale, yellow dot drawn by elementary school chil-dren in their pictures. The views are incredible! Solar observing is weather-dependent.

STAR PARTIES: COME OBSERVE THE NIGHT SKY!Star parties take place at Astronomy Park, 45 minutes after sunset. See our website (www.jmu.edu/planetarium/StarGaze.shtml) to get information regarding location, parking and how we will communicate to the public if the observing will take place or not.

On the last Thursday of every month (unless otherwise specified), we will be hosting a public star party at Astronomy Park located behind the Physics/Chemistry Building on JMU’s East Campus. We will have our telescopes set up about 45 minutes after sunset and invite every-one to come out and look through our telescopes. Throughout the course of the year, you can expect to see Mars, Saturn with its majestic rings, Jupiter and its Galilean satellites, as well as the Moon and binary stars! You will be amazed! Free! Great for kids! Since observing can only take place if skies are clear, make sure you check our Facebook page, our Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/jmuplanetarium) or our website (www.jmu.edu/planetarium) for additional information like time and weather updates.

Star Party Dates n Sept. 26 n Oct. 24 n Nov. 21 n Jan. 23 n Feb. 27 n March 27 n April 24

n No Star Parties in May, June, July and August because of late sunset times

SCHEDULE: n 1 p.m. family show n 2:15 and 3:30 p.m. feature show. No public events in July or August. All shows are FREE. No tickets or reservations required.