March brings spring nights to CSUN’s planetarium shows

The magic of a spring night will make its way into the March schedule of Cal State University Northridge’s Bianchi Planetarium.

The planetarium is offering two shows every Friday night in March to give the public an opportunity to view different aspects of the evening skies.

Each Friday at 6 p.m., the first presentation will be an examination of the night sky. The "Winter Sky Show," which offers a view of the stars, constellation and planets visible during winter nights, takes up much of the month, but the "Spring Sky Show," which offers a look at springtime night skies, will move into the 6 p.m. slot beginning March 26.

The second presentations, each beginning at 7 p.m., are as follows:

March 5: "The Search for Life in the Universe," in which narrator Leonard Nimoy poses the question, "Are we alone in the universe?" The show explores the attempts by humans to establish contact with extraterrestrial civilizations.

March 12: "Voyager Encounters," in which narrator Patrick Stewart shares the results of Voyager 1 and 2’s visits to our solar systems’ outer planets and their moons.

March 19: "Spring Sky Show" offers an opportunity to learn about the stars, constellations and planets visible in the spring skies and also explains why spring officially begins that night.

March 26: "Is There Water and Is There Life on Europa?" John Olson, a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA and member of UCLA’s Astrobiological Society, will talk about the possibility of liquid water and life presence on Europa, one of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter.

General admission tickets for one show are $5, or $8 for two shows. Student admission is $3 for one show and $5 for two shows.

Tickets are available at the University Student Union box office weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by calling the box office at (818) 677-5601.