Best Planetarium (2025) - USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Part of the College of Southern Idaho's Herrett Center for Arts & Science, this planetarium has been providing educational and entertaining shows about the universe since 1995. Featuring a 50-foot dome and Dolby 5.1 surround sound, the Faulkner Planetarium is the perfect way to start or end a visit to this free museum, where you can also enjoy various exhibits about fossils, Native American culture, and art.
Photo courtesy of Rawpixel / iStock Via Getty Images Plus No. 9: Clark Planetarium - Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City's Clark Planetarium is more than your average place to learn about the stars. This phenomenal facility features three floors of interactive exhibits covering everything from meteors to the moon, as well as space and laser light shows in the Hansen Dome Theatre and nature films in the Northrop Grumman IMAX Theatre.
Photo courtesy of RMSC (Rochester Museum and Science Center) No. 8: Strasenburgh Planetarium at Rochester Museum & Science Center - Rochester, New York
Since 1968, the Strasenburgh Planetarium has been captivating audiences with stellar shows and films in its 65-foot full-dome Star Theater. Check out the "Planet Spectacular" show for an overview of our solar system, or dive deep into a program about gravity, space, and time in "Black Holes Revealed." Be sure to check the planetarium's other exhibits too.
Photo courtesy of Adler Planetarium No. 7: Adler Planetarium - Chicago, Illinois
Located right on Lake Michigan, Adler Planetarium is Chicago's go-to place for all things outer space. From exhibits highlighting moon missions and the Chicago night sky, to multiple daily planetarium shows geared towards amateur astronomers of all ages, the Adler is worth the hype and then some. This planetarium also offers access to the Doane Observatory, which houses the largest telescope in the Chicago area.
Photo courtesy of The Franklin Institute No. 6: Fels Planetarium at The Franklin Institute - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fels Planetarium is so impressive, people book the location for their weddings. It's definitely more than just a unique event space — locals and tourists alike love the giant dome's galactic projections, as well as the daily shows included in admission to The Franklin Institute.
Photo courtesy of Morehead Planetarium and Science Center No. 5: Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Morehead Planetarium, which is part of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, offers a large variety of shows in the GSK Fulldome Theater. A few riveting options include films about the Carolina skies or Galileo, child-friendly missions with the Magic Treehouse kids, and explorations of dark matter.
Photo courtesy of Nick Letson No. 4: Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium at University of Arizona - Tucson, Arizona
A visit to Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium is sure to impress, thanks to its numerous exhibits focusing on everything from bugs and sharks to the solar system, as well as the state-of-the-art EOS Foundation Planetarium Theatre. With 146 seats and a SCISS Colorspace projection system with 4K resolution, this planetarium is the cherry on top of any visit to Tucson, Arizona.
Photo courtesy of Anna Trankina No. 3: COSI Planetarium - Columbus, Ohio
The Center of Science and Industry (COSI) is the home of this top-of-the-line planetarium featuring a Digistar 7 projection system and a 60-foot dome. Planetarium shows are free with museum admission, so you can explore all the COSI exhibits in between immersive planetarium demonstrations that take you back in time to the age of the dinosaurs, then whisk you to outer space to experience eclipses and more.
Photo courtesy of U.S. Space & Rocket Center No. 2: INTUITIVE Planetarium at U.S. Space & Rocket Center - Huntsville, Alabama
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is home to one of the top planetariums in the country. Indeed, the INTUITIVE Planetarium, which features an 8K dome and 248 seats, hosts multiple shows each day, including state-of-the-art films about asteroids and the James Webb Telescope. Visitors can also attend Cocktails and Cosmos events, in which stellar shows are accompanied by "cosmically created" cocktails.
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Travel + Leisure
2 days ago
- Travel + Leisure
August Has 7 Major Astronomical Events Including Meteor Showers and a Mercury Sighting
It's hard to beat a summer night beneath the stars, especially in August, when the shimmery Milky Way core is at its brightest. Late August also brings the return of the year's stronger-than-average northern lights season to high-latitude destinations like Iceland and Greenland, not to mention meteor shower peaks and striking planet-moon sightings. Here are the top sights to watch for in August's night sky, and don't forget to head to a dark-sky park or stargazing hotel for the best view. The Eta Eridanid meteor shower will peak overnight from Aug. 7 to Aug. 8. While this isn't the most prolific meteor shower, it's worth watching for in the pre-dawn hours of Aug. 8, especially since it coincides with the active Perseids. The spectacle produces about three meteors per hour; look for its shooting stars near the Eridanus constellation, which hangs low in the southeast sky August's full sturgeon moon will glow in the southeast skies on Aug. 9, with Saturn nearby to the east. Native American fishing tribes gave this moon its name, according to Royal Museums Greenwich. While you can see it throughout the night, it's best to watch during moonrise — roughly an hour after sunset — when the lunar orb appears larger than normal thanks to the moon illusion. Around 11 p.m. local time, the waning gibbous moon and Saturn will inch above the eastern horizon, then tango together through the sky until dawn. Neptune, which hovers just above Saturn, is joining the fun, but you'll need a telescope to see it. Early the mornings of Aug. 11 to Aug. 13, Venus and Jupiter—two of the night sky's brightest planets—will appear within roughly one degree, or about a pinky-finger distance, of each other. The planets will pair up in the eastern sky around 3 a.m. local time; they'll continue to climb heavenward until sunrise. The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most celebrated astronomical events, and this year, it will reach its peak overnight from Aug. 12 to Aug. 13, according to stargazing app SkySafari. The luminous waning gibbous moon will make viewing tricky, but it's still worth heading out. The Perseids is known to produce bright meteors and even fireballs that will shine through the bright lunar light. For optimal viewing, watch above the eastern sky after midnight into the early morning hours. Mercury orbits close to the sun, so it's typically tough to view the swift planet, but that changes come Aug. 19. This morning, Mercury will reach its farthest distance from the sun, giving stargazers around an hour of spectacular planet-gazing before sunrise. Watch for Mercury, as well as Venus, Jupiter, and the crescent moon, above the eastern horizon. You can catch the trio aligned in the morning sky for about a week after Aug. 19, too. See the sliver of a crescent moon and orange-tinged Mars couple up near the western horizon in the evening hours of Aug. 26. You won't have much time to admire the duo—they set around an hour after sunset—but if you do stay out for all-night stargazing, you'll be treated with more planet alignments just before dawn.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Full Sturgeon Moon, Perseid meteor shower and planetary conjunction to light up August skies
A trio of celestial events could dazzle across the sky in August, starting with the Full Sturgeon Moon, followed by the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus, and then the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower. The eighth full Moon of the year, known as the Sturgeon Moon, will reach peak illumination at 3:55 a.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 9, but will appear full and bright for several nights surrounding the peak. The name "Sturgeon Moon" has historical ties to Native American and colonial traditions, as the large freshwater sturgeon fish were most easily caught during this time in waterways across North America. Unlike last year, August 2025 will not feature a Blue Moon, as there are only 12 full Moons on the calendar this year. A Blue Moon can refer either to the second full Moon in a calendar month or the third full Moon in a season that contains four events. The next Blue Moon is expected to rise during May 2026. Don't Miss These Celestial Events In 2025 Just a few days after the full Moon, early risers will be treated to the planetary conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in the predawn sky on Tuesday, Aug. 12. The event occurs when the two planets appear very close together in the sky and will be rather bright. According to Nasa, the conjunction will be best viewed after 4 a.m. EST, but the visibility will ultimately depend on how clear the eastern horizon is. A telescope will not be needed to view the event, but the use of a viewing device may enhance the experience. See The Objects Humans Left Behind On The Moon During the overnight hours on Aug. 11–12, one of the year's most anticipated astronomical events will peak - the Perseid meteor shower. Originating from debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, the Perseids can produce up to 100 meteors per hour, making them one of the year's most spectacular meteor showers. In North America, the display can begin as early as 10 p.m. and extend into the pre-dawn hours. According to NASA, the Perseids are known for producing numerous fireballs, which makes the event even more article source: Full Sturgeon Moon, Perseid meteor shower and planetary conjunction to light up August skies
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Scientists may have solved a chemistry mystery about Jupiter's ocean moon Europa
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A long-standing mystery about the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on Jupiter's icy ocean moon Europa may be closer to being solved. Hydrogen peroxide forms as a byproduct when energetic particles break apart water molecules, leading to the recombination of OH radicals — highly reactive molecules with unpaired electrons. H2O2 was first observed on Europa by the Galileo Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, a scientific instrument aboard NASA's Galileo Jupiter orbiter that was designed to study the composition and surface features of the gas giant's moons and atmosphere using infrared light. Later, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) noticed elevated levels of hydrogen peroxide in unexpected areas on the Jovian satellite. Lab studies predicted that higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide would be found in Europa's colder polar regions — but JWST observations showed the opposite, detecting higher levels in the moon's warmer equatorial regions. These areas, known as chaos terrains, are marked by broken blocks of surface ice that appear to have shifted, drifted and refrozen. "Europa's peroxide distribution does not follow the temperature dependence predicted for pure water ice," wrote the team in their paper. Lab studies consistently show that colder ice has more H2O2, while warmer ice has less. In a new study, scientists report that they have noticed higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the chaos terrains alongside elevated levels of H2O2. This is probably the result of CO2 escaping Europa's subsurface ocean through cracks in the ice, the researchers say. The team therefore wondered if the presence of CO2 might be changing the ice's chemistry. "Could the presence of CO2 drive the enhanced peroxide production in Europa's chaos regions, signaling a surface composition more conducive to the formation of this radiolytic oxidant?" they wrote in their paper. "Supporting this hypothesis are preliminary experiments on irradiated H2O-CO2 ice mixtures that show increased H2O2 yields compared to pure water ice." To find a definitive answer, they "simulated the surface environment of Europa inside a vacuum chamber by depositing water ice mixed with CO2," Bereket Mamo, a graduate student at The University of Texas at San Antonio and a contractor with the Southwest Research Institute, said in a statement. "We then irradiated this ice mixture with energetic electrons to see how the peroxide production changed." The experiment confirmed what the team had suspected: Even small amounts of CO2 in water ice can greatly boost hydrogen peroxide production at temperatures similar to those on Europa's surface, helping to explain the unexpected JWST observations. This occurs because CO2 molecules behave as "molecular scavengers," grabbing hold of any stray electrons produced when radiation hits the water ice. By capturing these electrons, the CO2 helps protect hydrogen peroxide from being broken apart by further impacts or reactions. Related Stories: — Europa: A guide to Jupiter's icy ocean moon — 'Chaos' reigns beneath the ice of Jupiter moon Europa, James Webb Space Telescope reveals — Europa Clipper: A complete guide to NASA's astrobiology mission "Synthesis of oxidants like hydrogen peroxide on Europa's surface is important from an astrobiological point of view," said study co-author Richard Cartwright, from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. "In fact, an entire NASA mission, the Europa Clipper, is en route to the Jovian system right now to explore the icy moon and help us understand Europa's habitability. "Our experiments provide clues to better understand JWST Europa observations and serve as a prelude to upcoming close-range investigations by Europa Clipper and ESA's [the European Space Agency] JUICE spacecraft," Cartwright added. The new study was published in the Planetary Science Journal on Monday (July 21). Solve the daily Crossword
