Gaze at the Sky and Travel the Cosmos at the Triton College Cernan Center's Monthly Skywatch - June 19

The Cernan Earth and Space Center of Triton College next Monthly Skywatch will be conducted on Saturday evening, June 19, 2010, beginning at 8 p.m. The Monthly Skywatch consists of two parts - an indoor planetarium program and an outdoor telescope observing session. The telescope observing portion is only held if weather permits.

The indoor portion of the Monthly Skywatch, which begins at 8 p.m. (a half hour later than normal) in the Cernan Center's dome theater, introduces audiences to a wide range of Earth- and space-related subjects. These include a tour of the current nighttime sky, a presentation on the latest astronomical discoveries and highlights and plans for NASA space flights. Each month, the Cernan Center's Monthly Skywatch staff also presents a segment that features a timely subject or focuses on a particular celestial object that is well placed for viewing that month.

Weather permitting, the Monthly Skywatch will then re-convene on the lawn in front of the Cernan Center to observe the wonders of the sky through telescopes. Members of the Chicago Astronomical Society assist Cernan Center staff members in offering their telescopes and expertise to those in attendance. At the June 19 Monthly Skywatch, these telescopes will be trained on the planets Venus, Mars, and Saturn, and perhaps an assortment of star clusters and double stars. There is no charge for the telescope observing that follows the Monthly Skywatch.

Monthly Skywatch programs are a full 60 minutes in length to allow this series to cover more subjects in greater depth than ever before. Admission to the indoor planetarium portion of the Monthly Skywatch is $8 for adults and $4 for children 12 and under or senior citizens 55 and over. Because the planetarium component of the Monthly Skywatch presents scientific information at a more advanced level than our regular shows, we recommend it primarily for persons 13 years and older.

The Monthly Skywatch program is one of three programs that will comprise the June 19 and July 17 "Super Saturday" schedule.

On June 19, a pair of children's presentations (Zip! Zoom! Whiz! and The Friendly Stars mini) will be presented at 7 p.m., followed by the Monthly Skywatch at 8 p.m. and the Endless Photons laser concert at 9:30 p.m.

For more information about the Monthly Skywatch series, call the Cernan Center at (708) 456-0300, Ext. 3372, or e-mail the Cernan Center at cernan@triton.edu.

For information about other shows and ticket prices, please call the Cernan Center's Program Line at (708) 583-3100 or visit the Cernan Earth and Space Center online at www.triton.edu/cernan for complete information about the Cernan Center, as well as a current sky map, moon and planet information, online shopping at the Cernan Center's Star Store and links to many other Earth- and space-related resources.