The Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium at Buffalo State opens its Wonders of Winter program on Friday, January 28, with a special feature. “T+…and Counting” is a 15-minute presentation that honors those who perished in service to the United States space exploration program.

January 28, 2011, marks the 25th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger explosion in which seven crewmembers died, including teacher Christa McAuliffe. The program also remembers the loss of the crews of Apollo 1 in 1967 and the space shuttle Columbia in 2003.

“We are remembering these lost astronauts by presenting ‘T+…and Counting’ before each Winter show,” said Kevin Williams, assistant professor of earth sciences and science education and director of the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium.

The Wonders of Winter show presents and explains the stars, constellations, planets, and other celestial bodies visible during the year's coldest months. The planetarium installed a new ChromaCove lighting system last fall, which enhances the audience’s viewing experience.

This year, in addition to its popular night-sky shows, the planetarium’s programs will include shows about other planets in our solar system in honor of NASA’s Year of the Solar System. The “year” began in October 2010 and ends in August 2012 because it is based on the Martian year of 687 Earth days—the time it takes Mars to complete its orbit around the sun.

Williams, a planetary geologist, is excited about some of NASA’s upcoming projects, including unmanned missions to Mercury in March and to Mars in the fall. “The other planets are fascinating in and of themselves,” he said, “but they also tell us a lot about our own world and how Earth is the same as, or different from, the other planets.”

Williams believes that, despite the risk, human beings still have a role to play in exploring the solar system. “Robots and rovers provide us with amazing data,” he said, “and we are getting answers to questions that have baffled the human race since we first saw the night sky. But machines can’t think on their own, they can’t assimilate and synthesize information on the spot, and they can’t come up with new questions.”

Show schedule (January 28 through February 26)
Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. (running time is approximately 90 minutes)

Admission
General: $6
College students (with ID); children 18 and under; seniors (65+): $4
Buffalo State students (with ID): free

For more information, call (716) 878-4911.