There will be only two planetarium shows in December and in January as the facility slows down operations during the university's winter break. The planetarium will resume its regular weekly schedule in February 2006.

The December and January offerings are:

• Dec. 2 -- Viewers can enjoy the Autumn Sky Show at 6:30 p.m. It will be followed at 7:30 p.m. by "Astronomy and the Chinese Calendar," in which CSUN physics professor Paul Lee will discuss the astronomical origins of the Chinese calendar, which depends on the actual movements of the Earth and moon.
• Dec. 9 -- Viewers can enjoy the Autumn Sky Show at 6:30 p.m. It will be followed at 7:30 p.m. by "Age and Evolution of the Earth: Three Revolutions in One Century." During the second show, Jim Powell, executive director of the National Physical Science Consortium and a former president and director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, will describe how during the last century geology underwent three separate scientific revolutions: the conclusion that the earth is about 4.5 billion years old; the recognition that the solid earth beneath our feet constantly moves as giant plates travel over the earth's surface; and that at random, stones as large as mountains fly through space at cosmic speeds and strike the earth.
• Jan. 6 -- Viewers can enjoy the Winter Sky Show at 7 p.m. followed at 8 p.m. by a chance to look at the stars through a telescope, weather permitting.
• Jan. 20 -- Viewers can enjoy the Winter Sky Show at 7 p.m. followed at 8 p.m. by a chance to look at the stars through a telescope, weather permitting.

Tickets are available at the University Student Union box office Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by calling the box office at (818) 677-2488.