The Valdosta State University Planetarium will present “Lights All Askew in the Heavens” at 7 p.m., 8 p.m., and 9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7. This presentation is free of charge and open to the public.
 
“Lights All Askew in the Heavens” will begin with a look at the wonders of Valdosta’s November sky, including the gibbous moon, the planet Saturn, and the Pleiades star cluster. This will be followed by a journey back in time to the solar eclipse that “changed our concepts of space and time,” shared VSU’s Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences.  
 
“In 1918, the name Albert Einstein was known only within the European community of physicists. However, that changed on Nov. 7, 1919, when The Times of London announced a revolution in science. Observations of a solar eclipse six months earlier had confirmed a prediction made by Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity — that light itself is affected by gravity. Within days the news spread throughout the world, and Einstein became a celebrity. He would eventually be recognized as perhaps the greatest scientist of the 20th century.
 
“A century later, we celebrate this event at our celestial theatre.”
 
Seating for each of the three presentations is limited to 47 guests. Free admission tickets will be distributed beginning at 6 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis at the VSU Planetarium.
 
The VSU Observatory will be open from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., weather permitting, allowing guests the opportunity to view the stars and planets.  
 
Located on the third floor of Nevins Hall, the VSU Planetarium features a Digitarium Kappa digital projector, which can reproduce the night sky as seen from anywhere on Earth or from the surface of any object in the solar system, at any time in history, past or future.
 
Limited parking will be available in front of Nevins Hall and across Patterson Street.
 
Planetarium public outreach shows are appropriate for children and adults ages 5 and up.