SummEr 2011 - Santa Fe Community College

Planetarium
Where the Stars Are!
June through August 2011
Echoes of the Night
Wednesdays, June 1, July 6 and August 3, 8 to 9 p.m.
This program features a selection of Native American
stories accented by music on the courting flute as a
catalyst for audience participation. Learn about the
legends created by native people of the Southwest.
Backyard Astronomy
Thursdays, June 2, July 7 and August 4, 8 to 9 p.m.
Enjoy a live presentation of the current skies in the
planetarium and an outdoor viewing of the night sky
directly from the college grounds. A sky viewing follows
the planetarium presentation, weather permitting.
Deep Sky
Thursdays, June 16 and 23, 8 to 9 p.m.
Stir your imagination, and put observation in a
framework of personal adventure. Topics include
nebulae, double stars, variable stars, open and globular
clusters, astronomical equipment and astrophotos.
Astronomy with Binoculars
Wednesday, July 13, 8 to 9 p.m.
Binoculars are highly versatile instruments that can
reveal craters on the moon, the moons orbiting Jupiter,
the Milky Way star fields and even other galaxies. In
many ways, binoculars prove superior to telescopes for
those staring out into space. Come to the planetarium
to learn why sometimes two eyes are better than one.
Practical Astrophotography:
Film and Digital
Thursdays, July 14 and 21, 8 to 9 p.m.
Thursday, July 14, Practical Astrophotography: Film
Thursday, July 21, Practical Astrophotography: Digital
Photography, or “drawing with light” in Greek, is a
term coined long ago. Silver of silicon, photography
is a good means to chronicle someone’s life. A picture
tells a thousand words, so what an excellent way to
document special moments, highlights and milestones.
The night sky is full of objects ready to capture, but
how can we do it
Constellations: Figures in the Sky
Wednesday, July 20, 8 to 9 p.m.
Did you know there are 88 constellations that can
be found in the night skies To the average person,
a constellation is merely a group of stars that form a
picture. But to the astronomer, a constellation points to
a specific area in the night skies. Ancient and modern,
constellations are easy to find. Let us tell you how to
find them!
Light Pollution: The Dark Side of Light
Thursday, August 11, 8 to 9 p.m.
For most of human history, the phrase “light pollution”
would have made no sense. Now most of humanity
lives under intersecting domes of reflected and refracted
light. Two-thirds of humanity lives under skies polluted
with light, and one-fifth can no longer see the Milky
Way. Of all the pollution we face, light pollution is the
most easily remedied.
The Paradigm Shift: When and How the
Scientific Revolution Began
Wednesday, August 17, 8 to 9 p.m., Copernicus: The
Dawn of the Scientific Age
Wednesday, August 18, 8 to 9 p.m., Galileo: The
Compromise with the Truth
Wednesday, August 25, 8 to 9 p.m., Kepler and
Tycho: The Geometry in the Skies
Isaac Newton wrote: “If I have seen farther, it is by
standing on the shoulders of giants”. Taken together;
Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Tycho Brahe represent
how science advanced in a series of incremental
advances, each one building on what went before.
Join us in this 3-presentation series and rediscover our
scientific roots.
Admission (unless otherwise noted)
Adults, $5;
Preteens and seniors, $3;
SFCC students, employees and planetarium
members, free.
For more information call (505) 428-1677 or visit at
planetarium@sfcc.edu.
34 CONTINUING EDUCATION PLANETARIUM SUMMER 2011 www.sfcc.edu