Mueller Planetarium and Lincoln's Prairie Astronomy Club join forces with Astronomy Magazine and Celestron Telescopes to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy with Astronomy Day 2009 on May 2! The special fulldome Planetarium show "Two Small Pieces of Glass: The Amazing Telescope" will be shown all day long. All those who visit the event will have a chance to win a Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ telescope valued at $150 given away locally, and register for a chance to win a Celestron NexStar 8 SE Computerized Telescope (valued at $1399) given away nationally. 2006's national winner registered at Mueller Planetarium! The Prairie Astronomy Club will also be giving away a Dobsonian Telescope. That's three chances to win your very own Telescope! Over 25 of the prime Planetariums, Museums and Observatories across the country are part of the promotion of amateur and professional Astronomy sponsored by Astronomy Magazine.

Lincoln's Prairie Astronomy Club, Hyde Observatory, Mueller Planetarium and many other organizations will join in the celebration of Astronomy Day with events on Saturday, May 2. Activities will be held all day in the University of Nebraska State Museum (Morrill Hall) on the UNL City Campus and will conclude with a "star party" during the regular open hours (sundown to 11 p.m.) of Hyde Memorial Observatory in Holmes Park. Admission to the events in Morrill Hall (excluding the Fulldome Experience) is free with paid admission to the University of Nebraska State Museum. Parking available in the 14th & Avery Garage and Surface Lot, located approximately 3 blocks north of Morrill Hall on 14th street. A parking map is available here. There is no admission charge at Hyde Observatory.



There will be fun educational astronomy activities for all the family in the University of Nebraska State Museum (Morrill Hall) from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Exhibits and displays will line the lobby of the Planetarium and all three floors of the Museum. There will be displays of telescopes, computer astronomy and astronomical photos by members of the Prairie Astronomy Club. Throughout the day, there will be special demonstrations and help in learning the constellations. The electronic display from the Space Telescope Science Institute - "ViewSpace" - (in the Planetarium lobby) projects beautiful images from the Hubble Space Telescope which provide an artistic and educational mosaic throughout the afternoon.

The Planetarium will feature a special engagement of the Fulldome Experience program, "Two Small Pieces of Glass: The Amazing Telescope." Explore the Galilean Moons, Saturn's rings, and spiral structure of galaxies. Learn about the discoveries of Galileo, Huygens, Newton, Hubble and many others in this immersive full dome experience lasting 30 minutes. Showtimes for the Two Small Pieces of Glass are 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. There is an additional $2.00 charge for admission to the show. No one will be admitted once a feature has started and seating is limited to 80 persons per show.