Event Time: Thursday, March 13: 10 p.m.-1 a.m.
A total lunar eclipse will be occurring and visible here in Prescott during the evening of March 13th. While you can enjoy this marvelous phenomenon privately, you can also join us on Embry‑Riddle’s Prescott Campus for a momentous celebration of science and celestial wonder. There will be telescopes, hot chocolate, knowledge sharing by professional astronomers and more.
Presentations about the Moon and our skies, alongside views of the eclipse projected onto our dome, will be occurring inside the planetarium, while views through our telescopes and naturally with your own eyes will be possible outside the building.
Weather permitting, Embry-Riddle astronomy students and Professor Richardson will share views of the Moon projected onto the planetarium dome. These views will include views of the Moon’s surface taken with the campus observatory’s 16-inch telescope around the Tycho crater and spectroscopy of the same crater with the observatory's brand new 20-inch telescope. We will be sharing how the information in those images of the Moon going through the eclipse taken right here on campus can help guide astronomers into the future as we try to determine the atmospheric composition of extrasolar planets.
Two of NASA's Solar System Ambassadors, Amy Oliver and Aliyah Postell, will also be present to share their expertise and marvel at the Moon with us! Amy is the Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist at the Smithsonian Institution’s Whipple Observatory in Amado, Arizona, and Aliyah is a recent graduate of the University of Arizona, where she studied the fields of mathematics, astronomy and classics, as well as the niche realm of intersection between the three.
This event will last for approximately three hours. Unlike other planetarium programs, you are welcome to arrive and leave casually throughout the three-hour span. For more information, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.
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Reception Desk Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.