November 2013: UAA Planetarium shows explore fractals, earthquakes and more

Located in ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building, Room 220, the UAA Planetarium and Visualization Theatre hosts two shows every Friday night (except holidays) during the fall and spring semesters. The full-dome theater offers viewers an immersive experience, with each show delving into a scientific topic. Most shows are under 30 minutes and followed by a live lecture from distinguished faculty. Tickets for all planetarium shows, including the November ones listed below, are available at UAATix.com.

Friday, Nov. 8 6:30 p.m. - "IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System" with Erin Hicks This full-dome presentation follows the construction, launch and early science results of NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer mission (IBEX). The spacecraft never gets farther than the orbit of the moon, but by collecting fast-moving particles that have traveled 10 billion miles to the heliosheath and back, IBEX is mapping where the sun's influence ends and interstellar space begins. Created at Chicago's Adler Planetarium with visualizations from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), this program is narrated by two inquisitive teenagers and features interviews with the scientists and engineers who have put their creative energies into this fascinating mission.

8 p.m. - "Dawn of the Space Age" with Erin Hicks Relive the excitement of the early days of space exploration, from the launch of the first artificial satellite to the magnificent lunar landings and privately operated space flights. Be immersed and overwhelmed with this most accurate historic reconstruction of man's first steps into space. Who were these men and women who took part in these death-defying endeavors? Witness their drive, their passion and their perseverance to explore.

Friday, Nov. 15 6:30 p.m. - "Earthquake" with Kris Crossen A sweeping geological journey, "Earthquake" explores the forces that transform the surface of our planet. After a stunning flight over the San Andreas Fault, audiences travel back in time to experience San Francisco's infamous 1906 earthquake. Data-driven visualizations illustrate Earth's story, revealing how subtle motions and sudden ruptures have shaped our planet over eons and how geological activity influences the course of human history. Finally, see how scientists and engineers help society prepare for a safer future.

8 p.m. - "Fractals Rock!" with Travis Rector Fractals are all around us in the natural world, spanning a huge range of scales. The same patterns repeat themselves again and again, from the tiny branching of our blood vessels and neurons to the branching of trees, lightning bolts and river networks. Fractals also serve as intricately beautiful representations of the otherwise abstract world of mathematics. They're surprisingly simple to make, but the closer you look at them, the more complexities you find. "Fractals Rock!" will take you on a visual tour of the endless fractal patterns of nature and magnify the infinite complexity of mathematical art.

Friday, Nov. 22 6:30 p.m. - "Nanocam: A Trip into Biodiversity" with Carolyn Wilson The planetarium show that shrinks you down to the size of an insect and flies you through the eye of a needle... "Nanocam" is a microscopic joyride into the five kingdoms of life. Created with the latest 3-D animation technology and based on real electron microscope imagery, this show offers a unique, motivating, didactic and funny approach to biology that has never been seen like this before.

8:30 p.m. - "Natural Selection" with Catherine Pongratz In Victorian times many physical phenomena had already been discovered and described by natural laws, but life's most eloquent mechanism was still unknown. Join the young Charles Darwin on an adventurous voyage of exploration circumnavigating the world with the H.M.S. Beagle. Hear Darwin himself reveal the simple and beautiful mechanism that explains the evolution of all life on Earth: natural selection.

For more information, visit www.uaa.alaska.edu/planetarium.

November Archive