ORONO – The Emera Astronomy Center, located off the Rangeley Road at the University of Maine, will hold the following star shows in the month of August.

Black Holes, August 2, 2-3 p.m.: The attraction of Black Holes is more than just gravitational. These mysterious graveyards of dead stars have fascinated generations. “Black Holes” explores the history, physics, and mystery of these reality-bending phenomena. Experience the bending of light, the skewing of perception, and the dizzying descent into a black hole.
Dream to Fly, August 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, 7-8 p.m.:  Have you ever dreamt you were flying? Have you ever thought how wonderful would it be to fly free as a bird?  Discover the mystery of flight with Leonardo da Vinci, Montgolfier brothers, Wright brothers and other inventors. Experience the adventure with powerful images and music, an immense and challenging dream, for which mankind has strived since the beginning of history.  Dream to Fly explores the history of flight and its most important milestones on our route to conquering the skies—both in terms of technological breakthroughs, as well as our perceptions on flying itself. The dream to fly has raised the man even further – into the outer space.
Coldplay: Sky Full of Stars, August 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, 9-10 p.m.: Coldplay: Sky Full of Stars is an audiovisual experience like no other. Join us at the Emera Astronomy Center for a show of dazzling lights and spectacle that will take you on a journey back through the band’s greatest hits. Tickets are $8 for general admission. Music programs may contain explicit lyrics, and are intended for adult audiences. All music programs may contain bright flashing lights and fast-moving images, which have been known to trigger seizures with those with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.
Lucia: The Secret of Shooting Stars, August 4, 11, 18, 25,  2-3 p.m.” Vladimir, a polar bear and James, a penguin, travel into space aboard the Polaris to study polar auroras.  Hit by a meteorite, they crash at the foot of a pre-Columbian pyramid and meet Lucia, a hummingbird who is passionate about rocks. She tells them about a legend evoking “stones of light”.  Meteorites, shooting stars, these “stones of light” intrigue them all. Searching for answers, they board for the Moon, then the asteroid belt, and finally land on a comet nucleus. Observations and analyses will allow them to find answers to their questions about these objects and learn about the origin of the solar system.
Polaris: Mystery of the Polar Night, August 5, 2-3 p.m.: A traveling penguin from the South Pole and a funny polar bear from the North pole meet on arctic sea ice.  They become friends observing the night sky together and wondering why night is so long at the poles of the Earth. This mystery leads them on a scientific adventure by building an improvised spaceship to travel around the Earth to learn about seasons, visit Mars and Saturn to learn about ice in the solar system and how planets have similarities and differences which make them unique.
Cell! Cell! Cell!, August 7 2-3 p.m.: You are made of 70 trillion living cells. They work. They talk. They think. They are what make you alive. This is the story of the trillions of cells that form our bodies, from our beginnings as a single cell to the complexity of a whole body: it’s the story of who we are. Join Raj and Sooki on a totally ex-CELL-ent immersive journey. Get shrunk down by the Shrink-a-tron, go back in time with the Retroscope and see an exploded view of all the body systems courtesy of the Cell-o-tron. Find out how cool cells really are!
Cosmic Recipe, August 9, 2-3 p.m.: The famous astronomer Carl Sagan once said: “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”  Though that may sound crazy, Sagan was onto something BIG! Want to know what? Pull up a chair at our Planetarium’s Periodic Table and learn the cosmic recipes that created everything in our world – even us!   Discover how the Big Bang cooked up everyday elements such as the calcium in our teeth, the silicon in our smart phones, and even the carbon in our apple pies in The Cosmic Recipe.
Phantom of the Universe, August 12, 2-3 p.m.: From the journey of protons racing through the world’s largest particle collider to up-close views of the Big Bang and emergent universe, and the nearly mile-deep descent to an underground experiment, Phantom of the Universe immerses audiences in the search for dark matter. Explore this mysterious matter and how we are using discoveries at the Large Hadron Collider to get closer to discovering the true nature of Dark Matter. View the first hints of its existence through the eyes of Fritz Zwicky, the scientist who coined the term “dark matter.” Explore the astral choreography witnessed by Vera Rubin in the Andromeda galaxy, and then plummet deep underground to see the most sensitive dark matter detector on Earth, housed in a former gold mine.  Speed alongside particles before they collide in visually stunning explosions of light and sound at Large Hadron Collider at CERN, while learning how scientists around the world are collaborating to track down the constituents of dark matter. Executive Producer Michael Barnett of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory served as an advisor to PBS’s NOVA series Elegant Universe and the feature film Angels & Demons. Featuring narration by Academy-Award winning actress Tilda Swinton, Phantom of the Universe showcases imagery from CERN’s Media Lab.
Sesame Street: One World, One Sky, August 14, 2-3 p.m.: Explore the night sky with your favorite friends from Sesame Street in One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure. Follow along with Big Bird, Elmo and their friend from China, Hu Hu Zhu, as they take an imaginary trip from Sesame Street to the moon, where they discover how different it is from Earth. They explore the day and night sky, learn about the Big Dipper, the North Star, the Sun and the Moon.  Along the way, they learn how the sky we see is shared by many people around the world. Children attending the show can interact as they watch, drawing constellations and counting the time it takes the sun to set.
Secret of the Cardboard Rocket, August 16, 2-3 p.m.: Join two children on a magical journey through the Solar System, aided by a talking astronomy book, a cardboard rocket, and a vivid imagination. During this imaginative show, audiences will land on Venus, fly through the rings of Saturn, and discover the secrets of the Solar System.
Mars 1001, August 19, 2-3 p.m.: An international crew is about to embark on the first interplanetary journey in history, the first manned mission to the surface of Mars!  Science reporter Miles O’Brien is reporting while events unfold for the crew on their daring 1001 day long mission. Witness firsthand their brave attempts to put human footprints on Mars and return safely to Earth.  This journey will be extending our knowledge of Mars and will be determining whether or not mankind has a future among the stars. Experience the thrill of the grandest mission of exploration ever undertaken – humans going to Mars!
We Are Astronomers, August 21, 2-3 p.m.: Do you know what an astronomer does? We Are Astronomers reveals the global collaboration, technology and dedication required to answer the unresolved questions of the Universe. See how technologies such as the Large Hadron Collider, the observatories of Chile and the Hubble Space Telescope work and how they are used by teams around the world in this entertaining planetarium show. This show is narrated by former Dr Who star David Tennant and accompanied with music by New Zealand composer Rhian Sheehan. We Are Astronomers provides a visually stunning tour of contemporary astronomy using beautiful 360° full dome imagery.
Magic Tree House: Space Mission, August 23, 2-3 p.m.: Travel with the brother-sister duo, Jack and Annie, in their Magic Treehouse as they discover a note that asks them to answer a series of six questions about space. With the help of an astronomer, the Internet, an astronaut, books and the writer of the mysterious note, Jack and Annie are taken on a wondrous journey of adventure and learning. This exciting voyage will carry visitors to the planets and far out into the Universe where Jack and Annie nearly get… Well, we don’t want to give it away. The adventure is just beginning! Based on the popular book series by Mary Pope Osborne.

Explore!, August 26, 2-3 p.m.: Mars… For centuries it’s been an object of human fascination. Once mysterious, soon this red world may become our new home. This became possible due to daring individuals like Johannes Kepler: fascinated with the world, striving toward discovery and embracing challenges it may bring. It is our duty to continue their work… Explore, Dream Discover.  Take an adventurous journey with humankind: from ancient Mesopotamia to modern space exploration! Experience the fascinating history of astronomy, geocentric and heliocentric models, Kepler laws of planetary motion, and discover the principals of orbital maneuvers which enable satellites and space travel.
The Little Star That Could, August 28, 2-3 p.m.: It’s hard to be a little star in a big universe! Join a medium sized, yellow star as he makes his way through space. In his travels, he meets many different types of stars and learns about some of the other things that make our universe so interesting. After meeting stars, nebulas, and galaxies, the little star takes a good look at himself and finds that he, too, is special. He has nine planets that depend on him for warmth and light. Along with the little star, audiences learn the ways each planet is special.
Earth, Moon, and Sun, August 30, 2-3 p.m.: Earth, Moon, & Sun is a fast-paced full dome demonstration of lunar phases, eclipses, day and night, the sun and other puzzling events with the help of a confused coyote. This program beautifully illustrates basic concepts like moon phases and seasons. Based on the trickster of Native American lore, Coyote is constantly corrected in his misunderstandings of how things work. A live tour of the Maine sky and its beautiful constellations completes this micro-unit of astronomy.
Tickets for planetarium programs are $6 for Adults, $5 for UMaine Students/Veterans/Senior Citizens, and $4 for children under 12.Tickets may be purchased online at astro.umaine.edu, by phone at 207-58-.1341, or at the ticket box office prior to the show.