First, let's take a few minutes to enrich our lives by reading the Carl Sandburg sky-related poem of the day....

Special Programs

• Grade Level 4
  1. Planetarium Visit Agenda
  2. Exit Survey
• Grade Level 5
  1. Planetarium Visit Agenda
  2. Exit Survey
• Grade Level 8
  1. Planetarium Visit - General Questions
  2. Planetarium Visit - Specific Agenda
  3. Exit Survey

Questions to consider during your visit to the planetarium:

Did you Look Up! at the sky today?

Current Weather Conditions (on Earth)

• What are the ideal weather conditions for optimal sky-observing?
• Rotating Globe - The rotating globe movies are created using GOES-8, GOES-9, Meteosat, and GMS satellite data over a topographic map of the Earth. Updated every three hours. MPEG movie of the current weather over a rotating globe:
  Current low-resolution movie (2 MB). Which direction does the Earth rotate -- clockwise or counterclockwise?
• Current U.S. Infrared Weather Satellite - Time Lapse Loop (animated GIF, courtesy The Weather Channel, Inc.)
• Current U.S. Surface Weather Map (courtesy The Weather Channel, Inc.)
• Current U.S. Temperatures (courtesy The Weather Channel, Inc.)
• Current U.S. Dew Point Temperatures (courtesy The Weather Channel, Inc.)
• Current weather conditions on Mars.

Planetarium Facts

• Estimate the cost of the planetarium equipment (The Price is Right!).
• How high is the planetarium dome? (Estimate; measure.)
• Did you know...?
• Scale of the Universe: how big and how far away are the astronomical features (Sun, Moon, planets, stars, galaxies, etc.) that we see modeled on the planetarium dome? View Powers of 10, a nine-minute video essay explaining the relative size of things in the universe (by Charles Eames).
• How many stars can be shown in the planetarium, that is, how many holes are in the planetarium projector? Approximately how many stars can be seen in the real sky with the unaided eye?

Atmospheric Optics

• Why can't we see stars during the day? (Think about it -- actually, most days we do!)
• Why is the sky blue? (For a more in-depth explanation, visit UIUC's Atmospheric Optics Web site, or Matt McIrvin's Web page, Why is the sky blue?) Actually, above 20 miles, the sky is black. Why are sunsets reddish-orange? (See also UIUC's Red Sunset Web page.)
• Actual size versus apparent size: why do the Sun and the Moon look so small in photographs when they often appear larger in the sky?

Coordinate Systems - Getting Oriented

• Latitude & Longitude on Earth
• What/where is the horizon?
• What/where are the Cardinal Points?
• In the planetarium, the directions East and West appear to be backwards. Why?
• What/where is the meridian? What is the meaning of a.m. & p.m.?
• What/where is the Zenith?

Daily & Annual Motions

• What is the daily path of the Sun?
  1. Technically, when is sunrise/sunset?
  2. Where (direction) does the Sun rise and set?
  3. Path of Sun versus length of shadows
• What is the annual path of the Sun? (path of Sun versus length of shadows)

Current Night Sky

• What is the phase of the Moon? What is the approximate time of moonrise and moonset?
• Which planets are visible?
• Why do the stars/constellations that we see in the sky (at least some of them) change with the seasons? Do we see the same stars in the evening and early morning sky?
• Where is the North Star (Polaris, the pole star)? How can you locate Polaris using "star-hopping" tricks? How can Polaris be used to determine latitude on Earth?
• What/where are several of the prominent visible seasonal constellations?
• Astronomy-related pop culture.
• During the month that you were born, why can't you see your Zodiac sign in the night sky? (For example, I was born in August; my Zodiac sign is Leo. Why can't I see Leo in the August night sky?)
• Are there any astronomical phenomena (e.g., meteor showers, comets, eclipses, etc.) visible in the current night sky? Refer to the one of the following skywatching guides:
  1. FCPS Planetaria 1998 Astronomical Calendar
  2. What's Up in the Sky? - current skywatching information including "This Week's Sky at a Glance" and "This Week's Planet Roundup," courtesy of the editors of Sky & Telescope magazine
  3. Astronomy magazine's Highlights of the Night Sky for 1999 and 2000
  4. Abrams Planetarium Skywatcher's Diary - day-by-day descriptions of the night sky for the current month
  5. Space Calendar - A service of NASA JPL
  6. Call the Smithsonian Institution's Dial-A-Phenomenon at 202-357-2000 (a free, tape-recorded message).