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First Friday: Colorful Constellations
Friday, August 4
6-10 p.m.
All ages, Family-friendly
$15 Adults, $10 Kids/Seniors, $5 Members
People have long used stars as tools for navigation and the grouping of stars in constellations to better understand the world. With the advent of modern telescopes, we can understand more about the identity of the stars that make up the constellations. Discover how astronomers classify the stars according to size, age, color, and composition.
As stars grow, age, expand, they change into many different forms such as red giants, white dwarfs, supernovae and black holes and others. Learn more about these celestial phenomena with hands-on activities, films, art installations and presentations. Visit us on the Observation Deck for a collection of constellation stories in a new edition of Native Skies Star Stories and a series of presentations from the Eastbay Astronomical Society.
Build Your Own 3D Constellation Activity
Lab 1
6:00pm – 9:00pm
When we view stars from Earth, we are unable to tell how far away they are from us. If fact, they appear to be the same distance, but their distances vary greatly. Stop by Lab 1 to make a 3D constellation that shows how far away each star is away from Earth in one of the most well-known constellations in the night sky, Orion.
Passport to the Universe Planetarium Show (19 mins)
Planetarium
6:30pm
Narrated by Tom Hanks, in “Passport to the Universe” you can fly beneath the rings of Saturn, into the heart of the Orion Nebula, and out into the vastness of space to experience stunning cosmic destinations as never before possible.
Turn on the Dark Live Science Show
Theatre
6:30pm
Everyone experiences the night sky, but do we all experience it equally? In this live science show, we will explore how light pollution has impacted viewing of some of the most spectacular astronomical objects, including our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and how we can turn on the dark at night across the world.
Stories in the Sky
Theatre
7:00pm
An insight into the stars and stories that make up our sparkling night sky, and what a star’s color tells us about its history and destiny. We’ll look at how to identify stars of different types, and how those characteristics can inform us about our own star and the prospects of finding life elsewhere in the universe.
Simon Steel is an astronomer and educator at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, CA. His interests are aliens, stars, galaxies, black holes and aliens. Simon has a Ph.D. in astrophysics, two children and a very active hummingbird feeder.
Native Skies Star Stories (Cancelled)
Observation Deck
8:00pm
This program is on a first come-first served basis and is limited to 40 participants.
For thousands of years, humans have looked at the night sky with a sense of wonder and meaning. Working with the East Bay Ohlone community, a native storyteller will speak to an Indigenous East Bay understanding of the sky and land as you gaze at the stars in an outdoor setting. Listen to old-time stories, living in the hearts and minds of the Ohlone community today, and teachings that will amplify the philosophy of the Ohlone and connect with the natural world as you gain a deeper understanding of the richness of their living culture.
Attempting to View an Exoplanet
with Galaxy Explorer Hanna Johnson
& SETI UCAN Assistant Director Daniel Peluso
Studio 3
8:30pm
Hear from one of Chabot Space & Science Center’s Galaxy Explorer Hanna Johnson and SETI UCAN Assistant Director Daniel Peluso about a recent observation made by Chabot’s own teen volunteers. They will recount their experience using a Unistellar telescope to attempt to view an exoplanet as it passes in front of a star. After this short presentation, head out to the Observation Deck to look through one of these same telescopes!
Unistellar Party with SETI Institute Astronomers
Observation Deck
8:45pm
Explore the cosmos with Unistellar’s smart digital telescopes as they join the East Bay Astronomical society for Chabot’s Free Telescope Viewing. View deep sky objects like never before and meet SETI Institute astronomers who use Unistellar telescopes for citizen science!
Zodiac Tours Planetarium Show
Planetarium
9:00pm
Come on a tour of the Zodiac, the group of ancient constellations visited by the Sun and planets as they wander along their roadway in the sky. Be dazzled by fabulous facts and fantastic fables of these notable star patterns, and discover what hidden celestial treasures they hold, Zodiac Tours depart every week this winter. Reserve your seat now!
