PEEC News:
Want to see images of stellar nurseries in our galaxy, learn about the life cycle of stars, and see films about the Sun?
At 7 p.m. Friday, March 16, join Dr. Erica Fogerty to explore the equinox’s astrophysical origin and how this celestial alignment is connected to the coming of spring. The full-dome films SunStruck and Solar Quest will play in the planetarium at 2 p.m., Saturday, March 17. These planetarium programs take place at the Los Alamos Nature Center and are made possible thanks to the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC).
The vernal equinox represents the rebirth of many creatures and plants on the planet. During the Friday show, Fogerty will take the audience on a journey to visit the other places in the galaxy where rebirth is underway: stellar nurseries. In these densely shrouded regions of gas and dust known as nebulae, the next generation of stars are currently forming from their predecessors ‘genetic’ material. Images will be projected onto the planetarium dome during this special astronomy show.
Fogerty is a computational astrophysicist in LANL’s Center for Theoretical Astrophysics. Her research explores how stars and planets form in cosmic environments using complex astrophysics simulations on the world’s most advanced supercomputers. Erica received both her PhD in Physics and Astronomy and her BS in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester in upstate New York. These two subjects, the cosmos and the human brain, have captured her imagination since she was very young. A native of Philadelphia, Erica is enjoying the change in surroundings that comes with living in northern New Mexico. Alongside her research, she enjoys engaging the community through public outreach and is an advocate for young girls in STEM.
PEEC has two full-dome planetarium films about the Sun, which will play in the planetarium at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 17, SunStruck and Solar Quest explore heliophysics and how life on Earth both depends on and is threatened by the Sun.
For more information about this and future planetarium shows, please visit www.peecnature.org/plane tarium. To reserve tickets ($6/adult and $4/child), call (505).662.0460.
The Los Alamos Nature Center will be open regular hours in March and April: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday as well as 1-4 p.m. Sunday. The nature center is open late Tuesdays, until 8 p.m., and closed Thursdays for regular maintenance.
