Astronomy Day

About Astronomy Day

Astronomy Day was started in 1973 by Doug Berger, the president of the Astronomical Association of Northern California. His intent was to set up various telescopes in busy urban locations so that passersby could enjoys views of the heavens. Since then the event has expanded and is now sponsored by a number of organizations associated with astronomy.

Astronomy Day is held locally in the Dallas/Fort Worth area each year at the University of Texas at Arlington Planetarium during their Parent/Student Weekend. More images about our events including Astronomy Day are at our Flickr page.

About the UTA Planetarium

The Planetarium at UT Arlington is a one-of-a-kind teaching, learning, and special occasion space located at a nationally recognized research university in the heart of north Texas. Open to the public for shows, star-gazing events, field trips, and private functions, The Planetarium reflects The University of Texas at Arlington’s commitment to service through educational engagement with the community.

With a 60 foot diameter dome and state of the art Digistar 4 DLP Projection system, The Planetarium at UT Arlington is one of the largest and most sophisticated in the state of Texas. The Digistar 4 system can project stars, planets, galaxies, and virtually anything else onto the dome as they look in the real sky (including both the Northern and Southern hemispheres – when was the last time you saw the Southern Cross?) as well as immerse the audience in a full dome animation show. Shows combine stunning visual effects on the dome with powerful surround sound to transport audiences to all reaches of the universe, from a light-speed trip to see mysterious black holes to a wild safari into the human body.

The theater provides comfortable reclining seats for an audience of nearly 150 and is wheelchair friendly. The planetarium can provide radio headsets for the hearing impaired.

The Planetarium is inside the UT Arlington campus, 700 Planetarium Drive, Chemistry and Physics Bldg., UTA Campus.

NSSNT & Astronomy Day

NSSNT is honored to be one of several booths in the Planetarium lobby during Astronomy Day. We offer lots of information on space and space science, much from NASA, JPL, as well as private and local companies involved in space technology. Each year, we set up booths with information, pictures, video, and even coloring pages and a space play area for kids. Drop by at the next Astronomy Day event and say hello and see more images of our events at our Flickr page.

Astronomy Day 2011

We had a great time Saturday at the Planetarium. The Fort Worth Astronomical Society and the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas were there with us. We had several volunteers this year: Alley, Curtis, Ken M., Ken R., Carol, and Grace. The telescopes were set up outside for solar viewing but the day quickly became overcast as storms brewed for the late night. But inside, we had fun, especially with the kids from Franklin Middle School in Dallas.

We had 4 big tables and a sign up sheet for people who were interested in more about NSSNT. More information can be found in links and uploads here on our site. Our raffle tickets made a whopping $89.00!! Thanks to Ken M. for his donation of the really cool painting. Proceeds from the raffle go to the Space Science & Engineering Award that NSSNT gives out at the Dallas Regional Science & Engineering Fair each year.

Astronomy Day 2010:

NSSNT member Curtis talks to an interested parent during Astronomy Day at UTA Planetarium

The National Space Society of North Texas and the University of Texas at Arlington celebrated Astronomy Day Saturday Oct. 23, 2010, from 12pm – 5pm at the UTA Planetarium.

We raffled tickets to benefit our yearly Regional Science Fair Scholarship, handed out brochures, space images, and other packets from NASA and JPL, and provided a space toy play area in the lobby. We sold $71 in raffle tickets!

The Planetarium showed the “Karate Kid” movie, which was a big hit. This weekend was family day at UTA with many special events for families like glass blowing, wheelchair basketball, and planetarium shows. At 5:30 pm the planetarium showed “Wonders of the Universe”, where attendees could peer deep into space through the eyes of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and travel back billions of years in time to witness the birth of the universe.

Raffle collected $71 toward the Regional Science Fair Award