The planetarium offers two shows every Friday night to give the public an opportunity to view different aspects of the evening skies. There will be no shows on Friday, Nov. 26, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

The first show each Friday in November, from 6 to 7 p.m., is an examination of the night sky during autumn.

The second presentations, each beginning at 7 p.m., are as follows:

• Nov. 5 -- "The Search for Life in the Universe" -- in which narrator Leonard Nimoy poses the question "Are we alone in the universe?"--explores attempts by humans to establish contact with extraterrestrial civilizations.

• Nov. 12 -- "What's Shaking and How We Measure It" will feature Caltech seismologist Kate Hutton, who will talk about earthquakes--how they are measured and studied and what is being done at Caltech's Seismology Lab.

• Nov. 19 -- "The Galaxy Evolution Explorer," in which UCLA astronomer Michael Rich will talk about what is happening with the explorer. The explorer, known as GALEX, was launched in April 2003 and is conducting a survey of the sky in ultraviolet. It has already turned up a number of interesting discoveries including rare galaxies and new peculiar stellar objects.

Student admission for planetarium shows is $3 for one show and $5 for both shows. General admission is $5 for one show and $8 for both shows.

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.