August 28, 2018
From the journey of protons racing through the world's largest particle collider in Europe to up-close views of the early universe, and the nearly mile-deep descent to an underground experiment in South Dakota, a new planetarium show is designed to immerse audiences in the manifold search for what is called Dark Matter.
Opening Saturday, September 8 at 3:30pm, "Phantom of the Universe" opens in the Delta College Planetarium in Bay City. It showcases the exciting exploration of Dark Matter, an invisible part of the universe that could make up over 25% of its mass and has yet to be observed directly.
The show reveals the first hints of its existence through the eyes of Fritz Zwicky, the scientist who coined the term "Dark Matter." It describes the stellar 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 in Switzerland, 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.
"Without Dark Matter, our own Milky Way Galaxy would fly apart and the Universe would look very different," says Mike Murray, Astronomer and Manager of the Planetarium. "Researchers around the world are trying to understand this cosmic glue we call Dark Matter. It composes more of the universe than ordinary matter and yet we’re still trying to understand what it actually is," adds Murray.
The new program will also help showcase the new capabilities of the Dome360 Theatre after its major upgrade in August. “The theater now features Digistar 6, a space simulator system that can take us anywhere in the universe with amazing detail and vivid colors,” explains Murray.
"Phantom of the Universe" will play at the Delta College Planetarium on Saturdays at 3:30pm from September 8 through October 27. Every show includes a live interactive tour of the current night sky as recreated in the digital dome theater and features hot topics from the world of space exploration.
Tickets go on sale at the planetarium one hour before show time. Visitors are encouraged to arrive at least 15 minutes before show time. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students, children 3-18, seniors and military.
The Delta College Planetarium and Learning Center is located in downtown Bay City at 100 Center Avenue. For more information go to www.delta.edu/planet or call 989-667-2260. News media interested in covering the event should contact Mike Murray, Astronomer and Planetarium Manager at 989-667-2270 or mikemurray@delta.edu.