Mon Oct 14, 2024 HOW TO SEE A BLACK HOLE
In the autumn evening sky, there are three bright stars high overhead which are called the Summer Triangle. In the middle of this triangle there is a great mystery - something which is invisible to the eye - that enigmatic phenomenon known as a black hole. It is called Cygnus X-1, and we can't see it directly because its gravity field is so intense that light can't escape it. But we know that it is there, because we've discovered an incredible amount of x-rays pouring out of this part of the sky. Cygnus X-1 is part of a binary star system. Gas from its companion, a massive blue giant, is being pulled from it to feed the accretion disc surrounding the hole; it’s here that the x-rays are being made, just outside the black hole's event horizon - its point of no return; it’s about 2500 parsecs, or a little less than 48 quadrillion miles from Earth.
Tue Oct 15, 2024 INDIAN SUMMER, THE SEVEN SISTERS
Over in the east, late this evening, there is a tiny cluster of stars known as the Pleaides or the Seven Sisters. You’ll need very dark skies to see at least six of those stars. To the Seneca Indians, the Pleiades were seven dancing maidens. At this time of year, the weather often turns pleasant, a respite from the first cold air of autumn. The Seneca tell of a village long ago where the people forgot to get ready for the cold times; when those first frosts appeared, they called out to the Great Spirit to aid them. Mannito granted them their wish: for ten days summer returned; then the thankful people prepared for winter. But there were seven dancing sisters, who paid no heed. Faster and faster they danced, until the West Wind took them in his arms and carried them up into the sky, where they became stars – the Seven Sisters.
Wed Oct 16, 2024 LASER SHOWS
After I graduated from college, I was able to get an internship at the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium. My first public shows that I did were about the planets of the solar system. The other public show was called, “Laser Rock,” which featured the music of a lot of different bands set to lasers playing on the planetarium’s domed ceiling. Now for the first time here at the Hallstrom Planetarium, we will be doing laser shows over the next three weekends, beginning on Thursday evening, October 17 – that’s tomorrow. There’s a family laser show at 7 pm, Led Zeppelin at 8:30, the Grateful Dead at 10 and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon at 11:30 pm. You can get tickets at Indian River State College’s Box Office or at the Planetarium – call 772 462 4750. Come and see the laser light!
Thu Oct 17, 2024 OCTOBER’S FULL MOON, LASER SHOWS
The moon is full today. This is the Sioux Indians’ Moon of Falling Leaves; the Big Wind Moon of the Zuni tribes; or the Cheyenne’s Moon When the Water Begins to Freeze on the edge of the Stream. The Ponca Indians, in observance of the time when food is harvested for the winter, call this the Moon When They Store Food in Caches, while the Kiowa simply call it the Ten Colds Moon, a harbinger of the freezing weather that follows. October’s full moon was also called the blood moon in medieval England, a reference to the reddish coloring often displayed by the rising full moon of October. We’re celebrating this full moon tonight by presenting Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, along with other laser shows including Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead. Call the College’s box office at 772 462 4750 for tickets!
Fri Oct 18, 2024 LASER SHOWS 2
Since the 1920’s when planetarium theaters were first built and open to the public, we have shown our audiences the starry sky and its constellations on our domed ceilings. We’ve carried visitors past the moon, across the solar system and out into deep space, to the far reaches of the universe. Planets, stars, black holes, supernovas, galaxies, and space travel – we’ve done it all. In the 1970’s planetariums began to offer entertaining laser light shows too, featuring classical, jazz, and rock and roll music all choreographed to our special effects and laser systems. For the next three weekends Indian River State College’s Hallstrom Planetarium will be presenting laser shows. Family shows at 7 pm, Led Zeppelin at 8:30, the Grateful Dead at 10 and of course, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon at 11:30 pm. Come to the Hallstrom Planetarium tonight and tomorrow, and see the laser light!