Public Shows
The 2018-2019 season at O. Wayne Rollins Planetarium features more than 30 Friday-evening public shows. Guests are encouraged to arrive early for the best seats. No late seating is permitted. Public planetarium shows, with the exception of Cosmic Concerts, include a live-narrated “seasonal stargazing” segment in addition to the featured full-dome program.
ADMISSION
- Adults: $5 per show
- Children & Non-YHC Students: $3 per show
- YHC Students/Faculty/Staff: Free
- Purchase tickets in advance online!
Any remaining tickets will be available at the door 30 minutes prior to each show.
For answers to frequently asked questions about our public planetarium shows, click here.
Rock the Dome II
With a mix of classic rock selections from the late 60s through the 90s, Rock the Dome II features vignettes of the sights and sounds that symbolize the evolution of rock history. Full-dome high-resolution computer animation is used to paint the planetarium dome, sending the audience whirling on animated flights through space and realistic landscapes surrounded by spinning abstract art and transported through imaginative tunnels—all set to classic rock music from Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, U2 and more!
April 26 at 7 p.m.
Planet Nine
In 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft gave us our first close look at Pluto, the most famous dwarf planet in the outskirts of our Solar System. The pictures sent back to Earth reveal a world far more complex than anyone realized. Now scientists are making new discoveries about our Solar System—and what it may be hiding: an object 10 times more massive than Earth far beyond the orbit of Neptune. Follow astronomer Mike Brown and his team as they uncover dwarf worlds like the remarkably bright Eris, egg-shaped Haumea and Sedna, whose orbit takes it deep into the far reaches of the Solar System. Is there a new planet beyond these distant objects? We’ll tag along on Brown’s first night searching for a true ninth planet at the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii. Join us on the hunt!
May 17 at 8 p.m.
Apollo 11: One Giant Leap
This special program commemorates the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, the first mission to land humans on the surface of the Moon. Take a look back at how the astronauts of Apollo 11 arrived in lunar orbit on July 19, 1969 and completed a successful lunar landing the following day. The mission fulfilled a national goal set by President John F. Kennedy in 1961: send astronauts to land on the Moon and return them safely to the Earth.
July 19 at 7 p.m.