There’s lots to learn at Super Stellar Fridays

Check it out this week and see for yourself!

Have you ever wondered what the sky looked like hundreds of years ago over Concord? What about how the stars aligned just last week high above the Arctic Circle?

Well, if you make your way to the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center this Friday night, you might just find out.

Tonight’s Sky is a planetarium show that’s part of a little program called Super Stellar Fridays, which is not only held this week, but the first Friday of every month – unless there’s a major holiday.

The presentation, more often than not, is all about what the sky looks like at that very moment, hence the name. This week’s show will be led by none other than Discovery Center Educational Director Kim Duncan starting at 7 p.m. While the center’s Digital Sky projection system has the capability to show you how the sky looked at just about any moment in time considering there’s something around 110,000 stars in the database, sticking to that night makes it unique and a reason to come back every month.

“It really is tonight’s sky,” said Jeanne Gerulskis. “We’re showing whatever’s out in the sky that night.”

And Tonight’s Sky is just one of the many reasons to check out Super Stellar Fridays – if you haven’t already.

The doors open at 6:30 p.m. so people can walk around a bit and still make sure they have plenty of time to get in their seats for the show.

Tonight’s sky runs close to an hour and at 8:15 p.m., there’s another special program with guest speakers that changes each month. This Friday, Sam Miller, associate professor of meteorology at Plymouth State University, will dive into climate change from a meteorological perspective by focusing on the link between climate and the Earth’s oceans, offering a meteorologist’s view on climate change through the ages, starting 12,000 years ago and projecting to the end of the 21st century. For all you weather connoisseurs out there, it’s like Christmas morning and the Super Bowl wrapped into one.

Since the Discovery Center stays open till 9:30 p.m., there will even be time at the end of the night to poke around a bit and see what else the center has to offer.

But you actually don’t have to take part in either presentation if you don’t want. You can wander around for three hours, taking in all the exhibits and even test your chances at landing a space shuttle or on the surface of the moon.

And if you happen to be between the ages of 13 to 19, you can take part in Teen Night, beginning at 7 p.m. This week, there will be a workshop titled Forecasting Our Weather, where teens will learn the basics of weather and how meteorologists forecast storms from Plymouth State graduate students Vanesa Urango and Kevin Lupo.

“With the teens, we try to have it more interactive,” Gerulskis said.

There’s even pizza and drinks provided at no extra cost. The workshop will end in plenty of time to take part in the program beginning at 8:15 p.m., so talk about double the learning.

If it’s a clear night, the observatory will be open where you can take a peek through the Celestron 14” Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope and the N.H. Astronomical Society is on hand with their telescopes all evening – weather permitting of course – for some outside star gazing.

“If there’s any chance you’ll see part of the sky, they’re out there,” Gerulskis said. “They actually love it when it’s freezing cold.”

It’s usually a pretty big hit.

“Some people come just to look through the telescopes and don’t even come through the front door,” Gerulskis added.

Super Stellar Fridays are recommended for ages 8-plus, and children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult. Cost is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and students and $7 for children. Teen nights are $9 per teen.

“For one price, people can come in and see it all,” Gerulskis said.

For more info, visit starhop.com.

Author: Tim Goodwin

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