The Dark Side of the Moon gala will be held at Clark Planetarium on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010 from 6:30 – 10:30 p.m. Tickets for the event are $100 ($125 if purchased after Sept. 17). Click here for tickets and additional information.

Hosted at Clark Planetarium by board members and staff, this fundraising event features delicious food from some of Salt Lake’s best restaurants, live and silent auctions and we will close out the evening with a presentation of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon cosmic light show.

Proceeds from the event benefit Clark Planetarium’s community outreach initiatives focusing on space science education. Since 2003, the planetarium has worked with community and state educators to provide unique and valuable astronomy education programs for students, teachers and the general public.

Design provided by RIESTER

“Community support for our programs is vital to our ability to create and support science education programming to Utah school children. Our facility, staff, exhibits and advanced technology allow us to place students and their teachers in the model, making difficult concepts easier to understand. ” said Seth Jarvis, director of the planetarium.

Each year more than 75,000 school children are served through Clark Planetarium visits and the AstroVan outreach program. The Dark Side of the Moon fundraising gala will give attendees the opportunity to experience the educational exhibits and programs in a fun, party-like atmosphere while helping to fund the planetarium’s educational mission.

The Dark Side of the Moon gala will be held at Clark Planetarium on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010 from 6:30 – 10:30 p.m. Tickets for the event are $100 ($125 if purchased after Sept. 17) and can be purchased online.

1970’s party apparel is encouraged and all guests will receive a string of pearls compliments of Overstock.com.

Clark Planetarium and The Utah Museum of Fine Arts have partnered to bring you the complete Maya experience.  Come to Clark Planetarium to see Tales of the Maya Skies which tells of Mayan astronomy, culture and achievement.  Tales of the Maya Skies, produced by Chabot Space and Science Center, uses full dome digital technology to transports us back into the world of the Maya. 

Follow your visit with a TRAX ride over to UMFA to Las Artes de México where you will examine three millennia of tradition and change across the broad spectrum of Mexican art and culture.  The Las Artes de México gallery provides an in-depth look about the religion, art, architecture and general culture of the Mesoamerican civilizations.

Enjoy this experience at a discounted rate!  Visit Clark Planetarium’s Facebook page to receive a BOGO coupon to both locations.

Tales of the Maya Skies plays in the Hansen Dome Theatre at 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. daily.  View the trailer and buy tickets on our website.

Beginning June 5, 2010 at 6:45 p.m., “Gateway to the Stars”  will highlight some of the most prominent objects in the night sky each month, using them as examples to teach observing techniques that will help maximize the stargazing experience.

Audiences will learn to navigate using basic techniques involved in stargazing and finding their way around the night sky by becoming familiarized with stars and constellations, planets and other galactic objects visible to the naked eye. Viewers will also learn to explore deep sky objects like double stars, star clusters, nebulas and galaxies to gain insight and perspective on the different components of our universe.

This innovative and interactive experience combines the most recent technology, space imagery and current night sky information to give viewers a truly out of this world experience.  “Gateway to the Stars” begins on Saturday, June 5, at 6:45 p.m.

Tickets for the lecture series are free for Clark Planetarium members. Tickets for the general public are just $1 each or $2 0nline. “Gateway to the Stars” will be featured the first Saturday of every month in the Hansen Dome Theatre at 6:45 p.m.  Additional information and tickets can be found online.

On Saturday, June 19, 2010 the event kicks off at Miller Motorsports Park with family-friendly race activities, dinner, a model rocket demonstration by Utah Rocket Club and a star party.

All access VIP tickets for the event are $100 per person and include admission to the park, access to the Larry H. Miller Total Performance Car Museum, dinner, model rocket demonstrations, an evening star party and one round of the following activities: Sim race, go-karting, pit crew challenge, jeep ride and the skid car.

General admission tickets are $30 per person and include admission to the park, access to the museum, dinner, rocket demonstrations and star party.

BMW Motorcycles of Utah has also generously donated one of the new BMW S1000RR racing bikes which will be auctioned off at the event. The bike and accessories is valued at $20,000.

Additional information about this event can be found on our website.

On Saturday, June 19, 2010 the event kicks off at Miller Motorsports Park with family-friendly race activities, dinner, a model rocket demonstration by Utah Rocket Club and a star party.

Located in Tooele, UT,  Miller Motorsports Park features lots of wide open track space and this event will have guests racing around on go karts, simulating a race in a Mustang FR500-s, testing their skills in the pit crew challenge and feeling the bumps in a guided jeep ride.

If you have an inner speed demon, this event will be a great way for you to see and feel the speed of the track. And, since this is a benefit for Clark Planetarium, you will be helping to fund programs like the teacher training workshops and the AstroVan educational outreach. Programs like these serve over 75,000 school children in Utah each year.

All access VIP tickets for the event are $100 per person and include admission to the park, access to the Larry H. Miller Total Performance Car Museum, dinner, model rocket demonstrations, an evening star party and one round of the following activities: Sim race, go-karting, pit crew challenge, jeep ride and the skid car.

General Admission tickets are available for $30 per person and include admission to the park, access to the museum, dinner, rocket demonstrations and star party.

If you’re feeling really adventurous, bring your own car for Wintercross in June. The Wintercross option is available for an additional $100 when purchased in conjunction with either the VIP or General Admission pass.

BMW Motorcycles of Utah has also generously donated one of the new BMW S1000RR racing bikes which will be auctioned off at the event. The bike and accessories is valued at $20,000.

Tickets are available for purchase on our website, or for an additional fee at the gate the day of the event.

We hope you’ll join us as we Race to the Stars!

This fun-filled event will give the general public the opportunity to view the sun and stars through telescopes, participate in space science demonstrations and see discounted astronomy presentations in the Hansen Dome Theatre. Most activities are complimentary and shows can be seen for as little as $1 per person. Please see the full schedule below for details.

In addition to the many planned activities, Clark Planetarium will be giving away a Celestron 50th Anniversary FirstScope with a chance to win a NexStar 6SE grand prize, courtesy of Celestron Telescopes. Astronomy magazine has also donated complimentary magazine issues that will be available to those who attend, while supplies last.

So mark your calendars and come help us celebrate the passion for the cosmos at Astronomy Day 2010!

Astronomy Day Schedule

SLAS Activity:

10 am – 12 pm  Sun Party at Winchester Park (6400 S. 1100 W.)

Clark Planetarium Activities:

Showtimes listed below feature $1 ticket pricing at the ticket window.

12:30 pm               Attack of the Space Pirates

1:30 pm                ”Universe for Newbies” Lecture by Clark Planetarium Director, Seth Jarvis

2:30 pm                Ultimate Universe

3:30 pm               Black Holes

4:30 pm               “Nighttime Observing Techniques” Lecture by Clark Planetarium Programs Manager, Mike Murray

1 pm – 5 p.m.    Complimentary activities and science demonstrations in the lobby of Clark Planetarium

University of Utah Observatory Activities:

5:30 – Dusk         Solar Observing at the South Physics Observatory (125 S. 1400 E.)

Dusk – 11 p.m.    First Light Star Party – weather permitting. Bring your own telescope or look through one of ours.

On Tuesday, April 13, 2010, Senator Garn will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his historic space flight aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Jake’s presentation will begin in Clark Planetarium ATK IMAX Theatre at 7 p.m. and will be followed immediately afterward by Hubble 3D.

“Jake Garn is a tireless and tremendously effective advocate for space science education. Jake has been an invaluable member of our Board of Directors since we opened seven years ago, and his perspective on the U.S. space program and its role in our society are both thought-provoking and definitely worth paying attention to,” says Seth Jarvis, Clark Planetarium’s director.

A Utah resident, Garn served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot and is a retired Brigadier General in the Utah Air National Guard. He has logged over 12,000 hours of flight time in a wide variety of jet aircraft.  In November of 1984, Senator Garn was invited by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to fly as a payload specialist on flight 51-D of the space shuttle Discovery.  During the seven-day mission he performed a variety of medical tests for NASA.  Discovery Flight 51-D landed at Cape Canaveral on April 19, 1985 after orbiting the earth 109 times.  In December of 1992, Senator Garn was the recipient of the National Aeronautics Association prestigious Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy.

Hubble 3D is the newest IMAX documentary and explores both the significance of the Hubble Space Telescope to astronomer’s understanding of the universe and the extraordinary work performed by shuttle astronauts to maintain and improve the orbiting telescope, regarded by most scientists as the most productive research instrument in the history of science. Narrated by three-time Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio, the film is a production of IMAX and Warner Bros. Pictures and was created in cooperation with NASA.

The event will take place from 7 – 9 p.m. and tickets are available at the window for $8 each or $9 on the planetarium’s website.

Clark Planetarium’s mission is to create and present stimulating educational programs that effectively share astronomy and space exploration information with Salt Lake County residents, Utah Students, educators and families, and visitors from around the country and the world.

Kepler was launched on March 7, 2009 to monitor over 145,000 stars in the constellation Cygnus. Analysis of fluctuations the brightness of these stars will help identify extrasolar planets and determine how many Earth-sized planets are in or near the habitable zone of their star.

Dr. Steffen will discuss the technology and science of the Kepler mission and explain how the mission helps to address questions about how our Earth fits among the population of planets in our galaxy. He will also explain how Kepler’s findings will pave the way for future research missions to look for signs of life on other planets. Following his presentation, audiences will see Extreme Planets, an original Clark Planetarium production, featuring the composition and significance of extrasolar planets to the field of astronomy.

Dr. Steffen currently resides in Illinois, but has lived in Utah. He graduated from Weber State University in 2000 and returns to the area for visits. “Since I have a connection to the Wasatch Front, I’m glad to have the 
opportunity to present this information to the residents of Salt Lake 
City. Most of the scientific community that studies exoplanets is located 
on the coasts and near major observatories.  This will be an 
opportunity for residents to hear what is happening in an important field that has fewer direct ties to Utah,” he said.

“The discovery of other Earth-like planets in our galaxy is a fascinating topic of discussion,” said Clark Planetarium Director, Seth Jarvis. “We’re delighted to offer the public an opportunity to learn about Kepler’s findings first-hand from someone who is directly involved at the cutting edge of this research.”

Clark Planetarium’s mission is to create and present stimulating educational programs that effectively share astronomy and space exploration information with Salt Lake County residents, Utah students, educators and families and visitors from around the country and the world. Additional information on this event can be found on the Clark Planetarium website.

Tickets are $1 at the planetarium’s ticket desk or $2 online.

Due to the technical nature of this presentation, it is not recommended that children under 8 years of age attend.

Date: Feb. 8, 2010

Time: 7 – 9 p.m.

Location: Hansen Dome Theatre