January 2015: 'Exploding Universe' premiere and other great shows at the UAA Planetarium

by Michelle Saport  |   

Located in ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building, Room 220, the UAA Planetarium and Visualization Theater hosts regular Friday night shows. The full-dome theater offers viewers an immersive experience, with each show delving into a scientific topic. Most shows are under 30 minutes and followed by a live lecture from distinguished faculty and community experts. Tickets for all planetarium shows are available at UAATix.com.

For more information, including how to become a planetarium member, please visit www.uaa.alaska.edu/planetarium.

Friday, Jan. 23 (Biology Night) 6:30 p.m. - "Origins of Life" presented by UAA Biological Sciences Professor Ian van Tets, Ph.D. This full-dome program addresses some of the most profound questions in the field of life science. Starting with the big bang, "Origins of Life" deals with prebiotic chemistry in the universe, the formation of stars and planets and the first life on Earth. It covers the great extinctions as well as humanity's search for primitive life beyond Earth. Featuring many recent discoveries related to life science, this motivational journey demonstrates that if there was ever a time when science was making its greatest advances, it's right now!

8 p.m. - "Nanocam: A Trip Into Biodiversity" presented by UAA Biological Sciences Professor Ian van Tets, Ph.D. The planetarium show that shrinks you down to the size of an insect and flies you through the eye of a needle... "Nanocam: A Trip Into Diodiversity" is a microscopic joyride into the five kingdoms of life. Created with the latest 3-D animation technology and based on real electron microscope imagery, this show offers a unique, motivating, didactic and funny approach to biology never before seen.

Join Hugo and Marcos as they rush to finish an assignment before heading off to the big game. When they find the Nanocam microscope simulator online, their tedious task turns into a fascinating voyage of discovery into worlds they'd never dreamed of before.

Friday, Jan. 30 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. - "Exploding Universe" premiere presented by UAA Astronomy Professor Travis Rector, Ph.D. Out of devastating events in the cosmos comes new creation. Explosive phenomena are responsible for the way we see the universe today and not all of them happen on a grand scale.

When giant stars explode as "supernovas," they seed the galaxies with heavy elements that make planets and life possible. Some collisions we are only just now starting to understand. For example, when black holes collide, they can throw off some of the most energetic particles known, ripping and warping space as they go. Other "explosions" have profound effects as well, such as the beauty and power of supervolcanoes, which have contributed to the transformation of our world into the life-bearing oasis we now enjoy. The smallest of explosions, such as the forced impact of atoms, can echo the foundation events of the early universe.

As the universe has transformed into the structure we live in now, even the most elementary particles have endured. This show follows the path of one of these particles, a proton, as it participates in nature's astounding events of rebirth and renewal.

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