Explore the Sky During These Lazy Days of Summer
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Welcome Back!
We are delighted to welcome visitors
back to the Planetarium! You can schedule a private show in the
Planetarium for your group of 1-100 people.
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Choose an astronomy show or a laser
concert!
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Rockin' Rocket Ride
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Magic Tree House: Space Mission
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Accidental Astronauts
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From Earth to the Universe
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Black Holes
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Exploding Universe
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Tonight's Sky
and more!
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The Best of Pink Floyd
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The Beatles
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Led Zeppelin
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Grateful Dead
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Queen
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Rock of Ages (music from the movie/Broadway show)
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Pop Rock (family-friendly)
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Laser Magic (family-friendly)
and more!
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The sky is
full of stars. We always hear about how to find the biggest a
brightest constellations. But, what about the smaller ones? Join us
as we find 4 small summertime constellations, including a dolphin in
the sky!
Check this
week's Star
Talk for more information.
It's also
available in Spanish!
New episodes
are uploaded to our YouTube Channel each Sunday.
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Explore the Universe with RVCC
Planetarium
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Watch our YouTube channel for weekly updates on what's visible in the sky
as well as activities you can do at home.
Do you miss
the Planetarium? Take
a tour of the exhibits.
Join our Facebook
Group for regular posts about astronomy news, activities,
virtual tours, satellite passes that you can see in the real sky, and
more!
Follow us on Instagram to see pictures we take at the 3M
Observatory and other news.
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Virtual Field Trips
Teachers, Principals, Science
Supervisors, Scout Leaders, Home School coordinators, Senior Center
managers, and Parents! Schedule virtual
field trips for your students and clients. Programs are led by a
live Planetarium Educator and always include time for Q&A.
Scheduling is flexible. We can present
during the school day, after school, or evenings.
Number of attendees: up to 30 per
session
Fee: $75 for a 45-minute program
$100 for Magic Tree House: Space Mission
Fees for Virtual Field Trips as of
September 1, 2021:
$100 for a 45-minute program
$125 for Magic Tree House: Space
Mission
The Planetarium will provide a
password-protected Zoom link before your date. We can also schedule
programs on Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. You can also invite the
Planetarium to join your preferred platform.
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Rockin' Rocket Ride: Our popular show has an online version. Join us on an
adventure into space to learn about the Sun, Moon, and planets.
(Grades PreK-K)
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To the Moon and Back: Begin with a story about the Moon, then watch the Moon
change shape in our virtual sky, and pretend to be astronauts who can
travel there. (for PreK-Grade 2)
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Magic Tree House: Space Mission Join Jack and Annie as they look for
answers to questions about space. Together, we’ll explore some
of those topics to see if we find similar answers. (Grades
K-4)
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Our Solar System: go on a tour of the planets in our solar system (Grades
K-12)
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Tonight's Sky: identify stars and constellations we can see tonight
and learn some constellation stories that go along with them. (Grades
K-12)
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Patterns in the Sky: The Sun observe the Sun's rising and setting
positions through the year. (Grades 2-12)
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Patterns in the Sky: Moon Phases Why and how does the Moon's shape
change? (Grades 2-12)
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True or False, Astronomy Version: Some statements seem obvious, but are
they? We'll explore statements like "brighter stars are closer
to us" and "the Moon is only visible at night."
(Grades 5-12)
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Youth and Teen Programs
Virtual and In-Person
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This summer,
RVCC has a variety of virtual and in-person programs for grade school
to high school students.
We have
Black Rocket & Super Science Programs for Kids to increase
knowledge in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math).
Enrichment programs include English and writing courses, Journalistic
Writing, Workshops for Young Writers, and more. RVCC will be working
with the High Level 5th Quarter Training program to provide a
health & wellness camp. SAT/ACT prep courses will also be
available for this summer.
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The Sky in July and August
Venus and Mars are low in the WNW at dusk. They
passed each other on July 12. Venus will pass 1 degree (about one
finger's width) north of the star Regulus on July 21. Mars is
slipping more into the bright twilight and will be harder to see as
the weeks pass.
Saturn rises around sunset. Jupiter
rises about an hour after Saturn. These two giant planets are visible
all night long.
The Summer
Triangle, made by the brightest stars in the constellations Cygnus,
Aquila, Lyra, is passing overhead after sunset. If you are in a very
dark location, without light pollution, you may see the Milky Way
Galaxy as a hazy band of light through this asterism.
The autumn
constellation Pegasus, the Flying Horse, is starting to make its
appearance in the eastern sky in the evening.
The Perseids, one of the best meteor showers of the
year, peaks the nights of August 11-13. The crescent Moon will set
early in the evening and won't interfere with any meteor-watching we
want to do. You can see more meteors around midnight, so stay up late,
turn off the porch lights, and look around the sky in all directions.
Follow RVCC Planetarium on Facebook and YouTube for
weekly updates about sky events.
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Moon Phases
First Quarter July 17
Full Moon July 23
Third Quarter July 31
New Moon August 8
First Quarter August 15
Full Moon August 22
Last Quarter August 30
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Have you ever
wondered when is the best time to look for the Moon? It's in the sky
roughly half the day, but which part of the day? Where do you look?
The Moon is
constantly orbiting the Earth. Each day, it rises about 50 minutes
later than it did the day before.
The following
are guidelines. You can look up exact rising and setting times on
websites like https://www.timeanddate.com/
The Full Moon
is opposite the Sun. It rises in the East at sunset and sets in the
West at sunrise.
The Third
Quarter Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon.
The Waning
Crescent Moon is easiest to see in the east before sunrise.
The New Moon
rises with the Sun and sets with the Sun.
The Waxing
Crescent Moon is easiest to see in the west just after sunset. Can
you find it before sunset?
The First
Quarter Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight.
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Please Consider Making a
Tax-Deductible Donation to the Planetarium
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Support from the community has
repeatedly played a key role in our success at the RVCC Planetarium.
We are proud to offer affordable, educational field trips and
engaging public events for our community. Your continued support
helps us to provide innovative, educational experiences for our
diverse audiences. Donations made to the Planetarium on Giving Day
and throughout the year help support new and exciting programs and
help us maintain and upgrade our equipment.
Thank you for your support!
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