Donald E. Bianchi Planetarium

Planetarium From Outside
Located on the CSUN campus within the complex of Science Buildings, adjacent to the building formerly known as Science Building 3, now Citrus Hall, the Donald E. Bianchi Planetarium (shown in the accompanying photo) provides weekly star shows and other programs not only for CSUN students but also for the many communities of the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas.

DURING SECOND HALF OF FALL 2009 SEMESTER PLANETARIUM PROGRAMS WILL BE GIVEN EVERY OTHER FRIDAY NIGHT AT 7:30pm and 8:30pm STARTING OCT-23 WEATHER PERMITTING TELESCOPE VIEWING OF CELESTIAL OBJECTS USING CSUN'S CAMPUS OBSERVATORY WILL FOLLOW EACH PROGRAM.

October - December 2009

 



DATE TIME   DESCRIPTION
10.23.09 7:30pm   Autumn Sky Show: Come and see and learn about stars and constellations and planets visible in the sky during the autumn of this year.
 
10.23.09 8:30pm   Rainbows, Red Sunsets and Rocket Science Revisited: The structure and nature of the universe has puzzled and fascinated people for thousands of years. Only recently, however, has it been possible to measure some of its fundamental properties. What do we know, how do we know, and what might we learn in the future? All these topics will be discussed in this last program of our fall 2009 semester which will be given by Dr. Charles R. Lawrence who is a Principal Scientist in Astrophysics at JPL in Pasadena.
 
11.06.09 7:30pm   Autumn Sky Show: Come and see and learn about stars and constellations and planets visible in the sky during late the autumn of this year.
11.06.09 8:30pm   Strolling Through the Heavens - An Introduction to the constellations of the Summer and Autumn Skies: We all know constellations have names, but do we know why and where do those names come from? In this program a CSUN Physics and Astronomy student Mr. John Hodgson will explain the stories and mythology behind the constellations and why heroes, animals and objects were eternalized in the night sky.
11.20.09 7:30pm   Autumn Sky Show: Come and see and learn about stars, constellations and planets visible in the sky during late autumn and early winter this year.
11.20.09 8:30pm   Light Years from Andromeda: A journey between two galaxies spans human history - and reveals the secrets of the cosmos: A beam of light leaves a star in the Andromeda Galaxy and travels across the void of intergalactic space. For much of its journey the light traverses the nearly empty, cold, dark space between galaxies. In the meantime, on a planet in a neighboring galaxy, intelligent life begins to evolve. As the light speeds across the space over the course of many centuries, the primitives on the planet form culture and civilization and begin to wonder about the universe around them. Their awareness of the space increases as the beam of light approaches their planet. When the light finally reaches the planet, the planet's current inhabitants will begin to use the newly arriving light to conduct scientific study and exploration of the galaxy from which the light came - and beyond.
12.04.09 7:30pm   Autumn - Winter Sky Show: Come and see and learn about stars, constellations and planets visible in the sky during late autumn and early winter this year.
12.04.09 8:30pm   The Really Big Picture -Things We Know About the Universe, and How We Know Them: These days planet Venus appears as a “morning planet” just before sunrise due east as the very brightest object in our sky, except the Sun and the Moon. The planet is considered to be a “sister planet” to our Earth. Of all the planets in our solar system Venus is most like Earth in size and mass, and it also comes closer to Earth than any of the other planets. But until recently not much was known about conditions on Venus because Venus’s dense and extensive clouds keep us from seeing its surface directly. This narrated slide program recaps the accomplishments of the Magellan Mission to Venus and takes audience on a “grand” tour of our “sister planet”. The program follows Magellan’s progress from its launch through the most significant discoveries which made this mission so far one of the most successful missions ever sent to explore the two inner planets of our solar system.

 

 


Please be prompt. For our guests' enjoyment, there is no admittance after the program starts.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS
TBA

For show information: call 818.677.5601

ADMISSION
General admission: $5 for one show, $8 for two shows
Student admission: $3 for one show, $5 for two shows
Recommended for ages 8 and up

TICKETS
Tickets are available at the door prior to show time. To ensure a seat, advance ticket purchase is recommended.

To order tickets, call the A.S. Box Office: 818.677.2488 [Monday - Friday: 10:00 - 5:00]

PARKING & DIRECTIONS
Parking is enforced 24/7 everywhere on campus. All parking lots have parking permit dispensers and/or an attendant booth. Purchase your parking permit and follow the posted parking instructions before you walk over to the Planetarium. We recommend using Lot G4, located on Zelzah Avenue. The cost of the parking permit is $4.00 per vehicle.

Campus Map
Directions to CSUN

PAST SPEAKERS

For your convenience, here is a list and accompanying descriptions of our past speakers.

ABOUT THE BIANCHI PLANETARIUM

The Donald E. Bianchi Planetarium is operated by CSUN's Department of Physics and Astronomy. It is named after the founding dean of our College of Science and Mathematics, who was instrumental in obtaining the funds for Science Buildings III and IV and the Planetarium. The late Dr. Adrian Herzog was the first planetarium director, and the design concept is his.

With the support of Dean Edward J. Carroll, Jr., the planetarium began offering regularly scheduled public shows for the first time in 2002.

At the heart of our 105-seat star theater lies the Spitz-512 Star Projector, capable of recreating the night sky on our 40-foot dome with accuracy and brilliance. Over 2,000 stars, the five visible planets, and all of the apparent motions of the sky come alive overhead in a unique and relaxing environment. The Bianchi Planetarium is also equipped to support large format image projection and captivating digital sound.

For rental information, or to schedule private shows, please call 818.677.5601 or email us.

PLANETARIUM STAFF

Dr. Jan Dobias, Program Director
Jan.Dobias@csun.edu - 818.677.5601

Dr. Jan Dobias is the Program Coordinator for our informal space education outreach. Dr. Dobias received his Ph.D. in Astronomy from UCLA in 1987. He is a lecturer at CSUN and is a Research Associate at the San Fernando Observatory. He teaches Astronomy at CSUN and has also taught classes at Antelope Valley College, Santa Monica College, and UCLA summer school. His experience adds significantly to our Donald E. Bianchi Planetarium program series.

Jeff Batten, Senior Electronics Technician

Jeff Batten has worked at the Caltech Seismological Laboratory, Caltech's Lindhurst Laboratory of Experimental Geophysics, and JPL. An avid amateur astronomer and eclipse chaser, he has been at CSUN since 2000.

ADDITIONAL LINKS

General Links

www.at-la.com
@LA has been received numerous honors and awards, including being designated as "Best Community Site in the U.S." and now has over 88,000 links, classified in 8,500+ categories.

General Astronomy

www.universetoday.com
An excellent site with exciting information on the space sciences.

www.badastronomy.com
The brain child of Dr. Phil Plait, "The Bad Astronomer." This site dispells the myths and rumors that flood the sciences.

www.space.com
www.astronomy.com
Everything current in the space sciences

www.jpl.nasa.gov
JPL's site containing information on current NASA missions and much more.

Other Planetaria

Drescher Planetarium, Santa Monica, CA
www.smc.edu/planetarium

Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, CA
www.griffithobservatory.org

Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh, PA
www.buhlplanetarium.org

Hayden Planetarium, New York, NY
www.haydenplanetarium.org