Santa Monica College’s John Drescher Planetarium continues its Friday evening events in Sept. 2024 with free, live virtual shows presented online at smc.edu/planetarium. This month’s friendly shows take a look at what light is, explain equinoxes and solstices, and by audience request, explore gravity and its effects on space travel.
The Friday evening shows are at 8 p.m. and are preceded by a streamlined virtual digest of the popular Night Sky Show at 7 p.m., offering the latest news in astronomy and space exploration. The shows include the chance to chat with the planetarium lecturers and ask questions.
Planetarium lecturers are currently using the Zoom platform to present shows while SMC’s new planetarium and observatory are under construction. Free Zoom software is available for download at zoom.com.
The Sept. 2024 shows are:
• Friday, Sept. 13, at 8 p.m. (following The Night Sky Show at 7 p.m.): “Light” — PlanetariumLecturer Sarah Vincent. Is light a particle? Is it a wave? The answer is: Yes. Almost everything astronomers know about the universe was learned from light. From radio light to gamma-ray light, every part of the electromagnetic spectrum reveals different pieces of the cosmological puzzle. But what is light?Free. Zoom at smc.edu/planetarium.
• Friday, Sept. 20, at 8 p.m. (following The Night Sky Show at 7 p.m.): “TILT! Equinoxes and Solstices Explained” — PlanetariumLecturer Jim Mahon. Most city dwellers are only vaguely aware of the rhythms of the sky and what the equinoxes and solstices actually are. In anticipation of the 2024 Autumnal Equinox on Sept. 22, tonight’s show will try to remedy this disconnect from the natural world, as well as dispel some myths, like that egg-standing-on-end story…. Free. Zoom at smc.edu/planetarium.
• Friday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m. (following The Night Sky Show at 7 p.m.): “Gravity” (audience request) — PlanetariumLecturer Sarah Vincent. Planets orbit the Sun; moons orbit planets. Astronauts orbit Earth in the International Space Station, where they float weightless…but contrary to common phrasing, they are not in “zero G.” Tonight’s show explores orbital mechanics and the puzzle of why it’s “easier” to send a spaceship out to Jupiter than in toward the Sun. Free. Zoom at smc.edu/planetarium.
More information is available online at smc.edu/planetarium or by calling 310-434-3005. All shows subject to change or cancellation without notice.
Santa Monica College is a California Community College accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).
