The late-night sky was huge and filled with brilliant constellations. Dozens of heads gazed up at the star-filled sky.
As it turns out, all of this star-gazing was done indoors on a Saturday afternoon at the Fiske Planetarium on the University of Colorado Boulder campus.
The planetarium guests left behind the cold and wind and instead opted for an afternoon of lasers and the wonders of space. An estimated 4,000 visitors come to Fiske Planetarium each year.
Outside the planetarium theater, a lobby contained several interactive exhibits on topics such as meteors, infrared lights and black lights. A giant telescope gave an up-close glimpse of a distant planet, while an illuminated globe suspended from the ceiling changed into various space orbs, including Earth and other planets and moons.
Inside the theater, the crowd gathered for a laser show projected on the dome ceiling set to music. Preceding the show, a Planetarium official guided the audience through the storied world of the constellations, sharing the epic feats of Perseus, Andromeda and Orion and explaining the appearance of Scorpion and the Big Dipper among others. The guide also pointed out how the stars would appear in the Boulder area this evening.
The laser show opened with music from Richard Wagner’s, Also Sprach Zarathustra, better known as the music from 2001: A Space Odyssey, thrusting the audience into the wonder-filled mood of space exploration. The show also featured Enya’s Orinoco Flow with dancing batons of light playfully bouncing across the ceiling and star-shaped lasers pulsating to techno beats.
One small child in the audience fell asleep on her father’s lap while another little one burst out in joyful “oohs” and “aahs” throughout the show, pointing up at the wonders above her.
“That was cool”, was uttered by many as they left the theater doors.
In addition to the laser shows, Fiske Planetarium also shows movies which are specially filmed for dome ceiling, including such titles as, Moon and Stars and The Many Faces of Hubble.
The planetarium is open Monday –Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and on select weekends from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. More information may be found at http://fiske.colorado.edu/.
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