If you dig astrology; or gazing up at the night sky; or just like catching an early evening buzz and staring at big, bright, shiny shit, then you need to check out Tuesday nights at the Hayden Planetarium. Just about every Tuesday night at 6:30 pm the good folks at the planetarium put on an hour long lecture and star show under the dome and it only costs $12 (or $10 if your a member, a student or a senior citizen.)

Me, my girlfriend and a fifth of Jack went on the last Tuesday of the month when they host “Celestial Highlights”, a nifty overview of what’s going on in the sky for the upcoming four weeks. Turns out March is a pretty happenin’ month, astrologically speaking. We sat with about two dozen other people in the dark as the lucid tones of Professor Steve Beyer took us on a tour of the night sky starting with the planet Venus coming into view just west of the setting sun on the 1st.

The Hayden possesses the world’s largest cosmic atlas and they use their unique Zeiss Mark IX Universarium Star Projector(say that ten times fast) to paint the heavens in all their hyper detailed glory. Under the dome the sky blazes with a majesty that just can’t be observed with the naked eye in the big city. It was breathtaking and a little overwhelming.

All during the lecture and the show there’s a digital clock on one wall with the date on it. As the lecture continues and the stars move across the sky, the date on the clock progresses through the month to parallell when it is we are seeing and hearing about. It was just another little touch that added to our immersion in the subject.

The star show and lecture gave me a new appreciation for a skyscape that I take for granted as a constant everyday fixture in my life. The whole adventure was a wonderful experience, and like almost all the thiings you’ll find on this website, the planetarium is a treasure that far too few New Yorkers take advantage of. So, I implore all of you to take an hour and go. You’ll have a blasty blast. If nothing else, it’s a cool way to pre- party before hitting the bars. And who knows- you might just learn something. In the words of Professor Steve Beyer, “Just get out and LOOK!”

UPCOMING COOLNESS

• Tuesday March 6- Depths of Sky

• Tuesday March 13- The Search For Life on Exoplanets

• Tuesday March 27- Spring Has Sprung

To get updates on upcoming sky phenomena and Hayden events send a blank e- mail to

star-struck-join@lists.amnh.org