Starry Nights, the ‘ultimate urban star party’, returns to the LodeStar Astronomy Center for its seventh season. This year Starry Nights features a brand new DigitalSky2 planetarium show in LodeStar’s world-class digital theater, which continues to lead the world in digital technology beneath its 55-foot-diameter dome – the biggest theater screen in New Mexico.
Special bilingual (Spanish-English) programs complete the “double dome astronomical fiesta” in the world-class planetarium and telescope observatory.
LodeStar will take audiences to visit huge, colorful visuals of deep-space objects up-close and personal with our new DigitalSky2 software. Audiences will see a live star show about tonight’s sky above New Mexico and journey through stunning DigitalSky2 computer models and imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope and other various ground-based astronomical observatories.
DigitalSky2, a realtime immersive virtual reality simulator, allows audiences to take live photorealistic flights through the solar system and into 3D data sets encompassing the edge of our observable universe. It’s like a giant digital dome flight simulator of the cosmos!
The Starry Nights experience also includes telescope observing of the celestial objects presented in the new DigitalSky2 planetarium show. Viewing is done through the LodeStar observatory’s 16-inch-diameter telescope as well as through a variety of telescopes on the observing deck overlooking Tiguex Park and Old Town. Night sky interpreters are on hand to answer astronomy and telescope questions.
Starry Nights the ‘ultimate urban star party’ also provides two floors of interactive fun—a gallery of astronomy exhibits on the first floor and hands-on activities for kids of all ages on the second floor. The unique program is generously sponsored by KOB-TV, 100.3 The Peak & Smooth Jazz 104.1.
Starry Nights is presented each Saturday night from January 6 through Feb. 24. Shows start 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8 p.m. and a special bilingual show (Spanish-English) is presented at 8:30 p.m. Telescope observing runs until 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 adults, $6 seniors, $4 youth (3-12 years). For more information see www.lodestar.unm.edu or call 841.5955
The LodeStar Astronomy Center is a University of New Mexico project located in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science at 1801 Mountain Road in Old Town Albuquerque.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu