New planetarium gives state-of-art experience
Lisa Kane
Mesa Community College’s new physical science building hosted its first Astronomy Night on Nov. 7.The building’s planetarium had showings every half hour from 6 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. and also had telescope viewings on the roof from 8-10 p.m. Admission for the shows and telescope viewings were free.
Students, faculty and the community were invited to stargaze through provided telescopes, or view the secrets of the night sky in the 48-seat planetarium.
The southern courtyard of the building, dubbed “Astronomy Plaza”, hosted a variety of activities and demonstrations for people of all ages.
Kevin Healy, an MCC astronomy professor, who presented the event, was pleased to see the Astronomy Night went well, and is already planning for future events.
“Everyone seemed to be enjoying the shows and we are looking to plan more events for both the planetarium show and telescope viewings in January and February,” Healy said.
“I would like to provide students with a state-of-the-art experience to see the planets and Milky Way first hand without going outside of the city,” he added
Kalen Lander, a sophmore at MCC, was particularly impressed by the planetarium show.
“The show was awesome because it takes you through our entire universe and it almost feels like a rollercoaster. It’s a really engaging experience, and you’re learning even if you aren’t interested in Astronomy or Physical science specifically,” Lander said.
The planetarium’s state-of-the-art technology gave those at the event a unique experience.
“The planetarium’s movies are projected through an IMAX quality, Digistar 3 projection system built by Evans & Sutherland Computer Co.,” Healy said.
“It creates a unique, 3-D experience that can make you feel as though you’re there experiencing it for yourself,” he added.
