The campus Planetarium opened to the public in Feb. 2006. Since then nearly 50 thousand people have attended a show.
“There were never any written projections. I think I had certain goals and the president of the University had certain goals. But the good thing is both of us passed our goals,” Kent Montgomery, planetarium director, said.
Montgomery was hoping for at least 15 thousand to come through in the first year. However, he was pleased when they had 28 thousand in the first year. With the Planetarium’s second anniversary moving closer they are now at close to 49 thousand.
“In fact we are having a big party at the end of February to celebrate.” Montgomery said.
The Open House Celebration will take place from 6-9 p.m. on Feb. 29 at the Planetarium. There will be refreshments, prizes and a free show.
“Southwest Airlines has donated four round trip tickets that will be given away in groups of two to anywhere Southwest flies.” Montgomery said.
According to the Planetarium web site they are currently showing Extreme Planets. This show is based around the discovery of the first planet orbiting another star.
These planets are known as “extrasolar” planets and are apparently very common in the universe. The film explores the different planets that have been found and the their conditions.
The Planetarium has shows every Friday at both 7 and 8 p.m.
If the stars don’t interest Commerce residents, the first Friday of every month the Planetarium shows the Rock Hall of Fame. This show has colorful graphics and classic rock music combined.
The Planetarium also changes shows every couple of months. The next show is called Seven Wonders and the Planetarium will be giving three free screenings at their open house celebration.
The Astronomy department is being expanded from having a Planetarium to also having an observatory. The observatory is currently under construction and will be about five miles south of town.
“It’s where we actually have the telescopes. And about once a month we will have it open to the public to come look through the telescopes at the night sky,” Montgomery said. The observatory will be free on that one night a month.
According to Chris Wyatt, a senior in the Theatre department, “The Planetarium and the place where they are building the Observatory were very helpful during our astronomy class. The Planetarium helped the class because he could show us the things we were studying.”
The place where they are building the observatory is currently being used by astronomy classes for nighttime assignments.
“It is amazing when looking at the stars. It is dark enough to see everything,” Wyatt said.