Final Show for Original Projector Tomorrow

It's almost here! I have heard a lot of buzz about this show, so I expect a big audience. It might be a good idea to get to the planetarium early. But not too early! The doors will open at 4:30. When arriving at the College, please be mindful of the fact that we are just beginning final exam week, and students may be studying or testing. Thank you! -IC

The Last Show

The last show with our 50-year-old optical-mechanical projector, that is. As you may know, we'll have a brand new Spitz SciDome digital projector AND a room renovation in time for the 2016-17 academic year. You can read about it, with an interview from yours truly, in this Hanover Evening Sun article from March 1.

But first, and before we go "from an etch-a-sketch to an iPad," we have the opportunity to make the last doodle with our beloved etch-a-sketch. That chance is this coming Sunday:

"The Sky this Summer"

Sunday, May 1, 5:00 PM

The show will rely 100% on the 1966 projector--no Powerpoint allowed!--and at the end, we'll lower it on its elevator and cover it up. Hope to see you there!

Early April Astrominute

Here is the text of the latest Hatter Planetarium - WZBT astrominute. In addition to the radio station, you may also listen here.

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Here is your Gettysburg astrominute for the first half of April, 2016. On the first of the month, the sun rises at 6:52 AM and does not set until after 7:30, eastern daylight time. In the first few days of the month, the moon will be a waning crescent in the predawn sky. A couple days after the New Moon on April 7, it will emerge into the evening sky as a growing crescent. It reaches first quarter on April 14^th. The planet Jupiter is dominating the night sky right now. Already high in the east as darkness falls, it culminates about 60 degrees up in the south at 11:30 PM. Toward the middle of the month, sky-watchers have the chance to see Mercury, when it will have its best evening appearance of the year. Go out on clear evenings starting April 8.

Mercury and moon, April 8, 8:00 PM

At 8:00 PM Mercury will be just north of west and about 12 degrees above the horizon. On that evening, it happens that an extremely thin crescent moon will be just to the left of Mercury. Though the planet is relatively bright, so is the glow of the sunset, so binoculars may help. A flat and obstruction-free horizon is a must as well. Of course the sky gets darker as the minutes pass, but Mercury gets lower, setting about 8:45. At its highest on April 18, the planet will be 17 degrees above the horizon at 8:00 PM. Good luck! The astrominute is a production of Gettysburg College’s Hatter Planetarium and WZBT. Text and images are available on the Gettysburg Skies blog.

April 9, 8:00 PM

April 18, 8:00 PM