Kentucky cosmos 

State’s planetariums offer high-tech views of the night sky 

OUR FASCINATION WITH the night sky dates back to ancient times when people would re-create images of the stars on the walls of their caves. 

Though we now know more about the universe, that fundamental fascination is still with us, but unlike our prehistoric ancestors, we can explore the stars through planetariums that specialize in revealing the night sky and the astronomy behind it. 

Today’s planetariums are a far cry from those cave images, offering visitors immersive, more realistic and more dramatic experiences through digital projection, surround sound, 3-D and ultra-high definition. They don’t just show us pictures of the sky, but create the feeling of sitting among the stars with their dome-shaped ceilings that act as a screen for viewing images of the night sky. They also present shows about space, science and other topics. 

Of Kentucky’s six operating planetariums, many have digital systems projecting images onto a dome screen overhead, and each offers stunning views of the night sky as seen from anywhere on Earth, at any time in history. 

Hardin Planetarium, Bowling Green 

Housed on the Western Kentucky University campus, Hardin Planetarium boasts digital projection on a 40-foot dome and seating for 150. It offers programs like Lives of the Stars, and Celebrations for a Long Winter’s Night; and shows on the sun, moon, eclipses, auroras, the Earth and other planets. 

But the Hardin also is the only Kentucky planetarium, and one of only nine in the United States, to show Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon: Fifty Years in a Heartbeat. This new state-of-the-art immersive visual experience runs through March this year and is set to the music of Pink Floyd’s remastered classic rock album, which was originally released in 1973. 

Golden Pond Planetarium and Observatory, Golden Pond 

At the planetarium inside the Golden Pond Visitor Center at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, visitors can watch state-of-the-art programs on the stars and planets, rock out to laser light shows set to music and see images of the night sky as it appears from locations around the world. 

Tonight’s Sky Live program offers an unimpeded view of the sky in real time. On some Saturday nights, depending on the weather, visitors can also view the night sky through the observatory’s telescopes. 

Golden Pond recently installed the Sky Explorer Digital Planetarium System, which offers sharper, brighter and more vivid images. The new system gives visitors “the capability to take off from the surface of the Earth and travel to any point in our sky for a closer look, whether it’s a planet, a distant star or even a distant galaxy,” says Operations Director Jim Taylor. 

Highland Heights 

Northern Kentucky University’s Haile Planetarium covers the gamut of astral topics: the sun, the moon, galaxies, dark matter, cosmic origins, the secret lives of stars, the search for the edge of the solar system and the wonders of the universe. As the planetarium’s website explains, “Astronomy is our starting point; from there we spread into the wider universe of the sciences and reach into literature, art, music, and beyond.” 

Haile is operated by NKU’s Physics, Geology, and Engineering Technology Department, though its mission goes beyond those topics and the university itself. The planetarium offers free tours and age-appropriate programs for the public, the university community and for student groups from preschool through high school. 

Star Theater, Morehead 

Star Theater is part of Morehead State University’s Space Science Center and 

is one of the state’s largest planetariums, combining state-of-the-art technology with an extensive list of programs and activities. It aims to serve the region, students, educators and the public, as well as the MSU community.

The planetarium’s extensive library of public shows includes Cosmic Adventure and Tour of the Universe. Laser shows include Laser Beatles, Laser Country, Laser Pop, Laser Rock and Laser Vinyl.

The planetarium uses its full dome theater for science fiction movies, classroom presentations and live tours of the night sky. It’s also the setting for special events throughout the year, including a romantic evening for couples on Valentine’s Day; and an eclipse viewing party with music, pizza and eclipse glasses. 

“Planetariums offer experiences you can’t get anywhere else,” says Pamela Clark, director of Star Theater. “What you see at a planetarium doesn’t just teach science. It makes science accessible because it is also beautiful.” 

How to look at stars 

By Anne Shelby 

I live, as a friend of mine says, 15 minutes from white bread, an hour from whole grain and two hours from anyplace they bring bread to your table in a basket. Flyover country, some people call it, or “the middle of nowhere.”  

We just call it home. 

It’s true we have to drive a ways to get to restaurants, doctors’ offices, concerts and shopping malls. Uber and DoorDash will not be coming by. It’s also true that this is sometimes inconvenient. On the flip side, the universe is just out the back door. 

It’s a clear night. Leave the dishes. Shut down the screens. Turn off the lights, grab a jacket and step outside. At first you can’t see a thing. Then there’s the moon, then Venus, then a handful of stars.  

Give it time. It takes a while for your eyes to adjust. It’s a gradual process. It’ll happen, but it’s not like flipping a switch. You have to wait. You have to sit in the dark, not doing anything. This is hard at first. Think of it as a lesson in patience. The light you are about to see has come from millions of light years away.  You can wait a few more minutes.  

While your pupils, cones and rods are adjusting, your mind is adjusting, too. Maybe you’ve been indoors all day, sitting in rooms and chairs built to human scale, looking at things only inches away, manipulating objects small enough to fit in your hands. And now here you find yourself, a tiny blob, set down in a dark, endless universe too vast to comprehend. Resist the urge to flee back into the cozy house, where things are just your size. Remember, all this out here—this is your home, too. 

That handful of stars becomes dozens, then hundreds, then thousands, then more than you ever thought possible, scattered across the sky in varying patterns, sizes and degrees of brightness, in depths going back and back and back, in space and in time.    

Your mind keeps throwing up thoughts. Man, that’s a lot of stars. Is that the Big Dipper? I’m cold. Where’s the Milky Way? Space is big. I am little. Do we have hot chocolate? Let the thoughts come. Soon enough, monkey mind will grow tired of its own chatter and quiet down. Next comes the good part.   

When it works, you don’t have words for it. You just know. You feel it. You, little blob, are a part of all this. Not a big part. Maybe not an important part. But a part, a part of all the beauty and mystery and motion that is all around us, all the time, whether we are thinking about it or not. And somehow, that makes a lot of things all right.     

I’ve lived in the city and in the country. Each has its advantages. Now I’ve settled in to being a country mouse who sometimes goes to the city.  

On my next trip, I plan to visit a planetarium, observe an observatory and pick up some really good bread. Then I’ll head home, to check out the view from my own backyard.  

On a clear night, you can see forever.