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First Friday: Close Encounters
January 5, 2024 @ 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Friday, January 5
6:00 PM-10:00 PM
$15 Adults, $10 Kids/Seniors, $5 Members
All ages, family-friendly.
Are we alone in the universe? Or could there be other forms of life out there, waiting far away in the vast expanse of space? Hear from researchers, astrobiologists and astronomers on the possibility of extraterrestrial life and distant exoplanets that could sustain it. Show off your best out-of-this-world attire by wearing your best alien-themed costume at the costume parade, engage in hands-on alien crafts then take a trip across the universe in our Planetarium – who knows what could be lurking among the stars?
This First Friday, we’re happy to be joined by our high school student volunteers from our Galaxy Explorer program for their end-of-term showcase! Stop by Studio 1, 2, and 3 to see presentations and demonstrations of the innovative work they’ve been exploring in their Engineering, Astronomy, Environmental Biology, and Science Communications teams.
Make Your Own Alien Mask
Mezzanine
6:00 PM-9:00 PM
Imagining Extraterrestrials Sketch Lab & Gallery
Studio 3
6:00 PM-9:00 PM
Ask-An-Alien Talkback Board
Studio 3
6:00 PM-9:00 PM
SF High-Altitude Balloon
Mezzanine
6:00 PM-9:00 PM
Science Through Shadows
Planetarium
6:15 PM
Chabot’s Digital Media Team is partnering with Fiske Planetarium at UC Boulder to produce content for Science Through Shadows, a series of short films they are producing and distributing. The Chabot students have been creating 3D models of asteroids, capturing them using photogrammetry techniques and rendering the images using MeshLab software. These 3D images will appear in the new Fiske film, which will be distributed internationally to more than 750 planetarium locations with the students receiving acknowledgement for their work in the credits.
Star Stories
Observation Deck
6:30 PM
Come listen to Stories of the Stars from all over the world! In addition to the Greek and Roman Classical Myths, you’ll hear Native American stories, as well as lore from India, Ancient Egypt, Viking Scandinavia, Ghana, Pacific Islands such as Hawaii, Kenya, and who knows where else?
Waiting Far Away
Planetarium
6:30 PM
An explorer of the cosmos has traveled too far… And can’t find home. Follow in the footsteps of a cosmic traveler as he shares a wild story. Find out what grand mysteries he has uncovered while journeying deep into intergalactic space, searching…
Space In Your Face! Out of this World with Julia DeMarines
Theater
7:00 PM
Explore how starlight can be used to detect exoplanets and hopefully life on other worlds! Join Julia DeMarines, a National Geographic Explorer and researcher at UC Berkeley and Blue Marble Space, as we explore the secrets of starlight to find, and creep on alien worlds.
Costume Parade
2nd Floor
7:15 PM
Come strut your stuff across the skybridge and around the rocket in your extraterrestrial best! Meet by the classrooms on Level 2 by 7:10 if you’d like to participate.
The Sky Tonight: Live Zeiss Show with East Bay Astronomical Society
Planetarium
7:30 PM
Explore the cosmos as a Chabot Astronomer leads you through the galaxy using a Zeiss Universarium Mark VIII Star Projector.
Telescope Makers Workshop with East Bay Astronomical Society
Lab 2
7:30 PM-10:00 PM
Open to all ages, the Telescope Makers’ Workshop is an all-volunteer group committed to helping people build their own telescopes. Drop in to see what they are up to.
The Search or Alien Civilization with Stephen Matthews, Ph.D.
Studio 3
8:30 PM
Hear from Chabot volunteer Stephen Matthews, Ph.D. about how scientists search for alien civilizations and what we know so far.
Phantom of the Universe: The Hunt for Dark Matter (25m)
Planetarium
9:00 PM
Phantom of the Universe takes you on an exciting exploration of dark matter, from the Big Bang to its anticipated discovery at the Large Hadron Collider. The show will reveal the first hints of its existence through the eyes of Fritz Zwicky, the scientist who coined the term “dark matter.” It describes the astral choreography witnessed by Vera Rubin in the Andromeda galaxy and then plummets deep underground to see the most sensitive dark matter detector on Earth, housed in a former gold mine. From there, it journeys across space and time to the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, speeding alongside particles before they collide in visually stunning explosions of light and sound, while learning how scientists around the world are collaborating to track down the constituents of dark matter.
Galaxy Explorer End-Of-Semester Showcase:
Astro Bites Presentation
Studio 3
6:30 PM, 7:10 PM, 7:30 PM
Galaxy Explorers: Astronomy Team – Join our Galaxy Explorers’ Astronomy team to take a small bite of Astronomy. Students will be presenting on various topics of interest as well as showcasing astronomical images created from raw telescope data!
Mapping as Spatial Data Visualization Tool Ongoing Poster Session Q&A
Studio 2
6:30 PM-8:00 PM
Galaxy Explorers: Environment and Astrobiology Team – During the fall semester, Galaxy Explorers used ArcGIS online, a software used to analyze and visualize geographic data, to create maps. By integrating multiple map layers representing different variables onto one map, they were able to draw conclusions about the environment of Earth or other planets. Each group has created a research poster to show their processes and findings.
Rocket Science Ongoing Poster Session Q&A
Studio 1
6:30 PM-8:00 PM
Galaxy Explorers: Engineering Team – Sunday, November 12th marked an incredible day and pivotal moment for our Fall 2023 Engineering Team with the successful launch of 8 stage 1 model rockets at AstraSpace in Alameda. Throughout seven 3 hour meetings, students engaged in hands-on activities and simulations, to understand the science, engineering, and practical aspects of modeling, designing, building, and launching rockets.
NASA Ames Summer 2023 Intern Research Project Presentations
Studio 1 Projection Wall
6:30 PM-8:00 PM
Last summer, 28 Chabot Galaxy Explorers completed 8-week internships with researchers from NASA Ames. 8 of those who returned as GEs this year are re-presenting their findings tonight. Presentations at 6:30 PM, 6:50 PM, 7:10 PM, 7:30 PM, 7:50 PM, and 8:00 PM.
Science Through Shadows
Lab 1
6:40 PM-8:00 PM
Galaxy Explorers: Digital Media Team – Chabot’s Digital Media Team is partnering with Fiske Planetarium at UC Boulder to provide content for Science through Shadows, a series of short films they are producing and distributing. The Chabot students have been creating 3d models of asteroids, capturing them using photogrammetry techniques and rendering the images using MeshLab software. These 3d images will appear in the new Fiske film and distributed internationally to more than 750 planetariums locations including student credits. A full-screen viewing will take place in the planetarium at 6:15 PM with mobile planetarium shows, including a second short, taking place every 20 minutes in Lab 1 starting at 6:40 PM.
